Spoiled Kids Next Door
by Paper.Bullets
Summary: You had only agreed to the whole shenanigan in hopes of helping Haruhi pay off her debt to these spoiled, rich kids. You hadn't meant to become caught up in their perplexing adventures! Now to make things worse, you've somehow situated yourself in the midst of all the chaos, or rather; in the Hitachiin Estate. Hikaru Hitachiin x You / OC x Kaoru Hitachiin
1. Third Music Room ::01::

_Ouran High School Host Club (桜蘭高校ホスト部)_ © Bisco Hatori & Hakusensha

Original Characters & _Spoiled Kids Next Door_ Fan Fiction Plot Belong to Me.

**. S p o i l e d . K i d s . N e x t . D o o r .**  
_. . . An Ouran High School Host Club Fan Fiction . . ._

___**Warning:**  
This is written in Second Person, but is not to be considered an interactive entry because it is NOT meant to be a Reader Insert._  
_It is strictly because this point of view allows me better access to both first and third person without me having to switch back and forth to piss myself off._  
_I'm sorry for any inconveniences, but that is the path I've decided to go with this story and I'll see how it works out for the first few chapters before I reassess._  
Thank you.

**__****_"All charming people, I fancy, are spoiled. It is the secret of their attraction."_ - Oscar Wilde**  


**-X-**

**Monday: **You were reading alone in the first music room.

Again.

Now, it's not to say that you don't enjoy reading, but after three weeks of constant reading at home and nothing else to pass time, it takes a toll on your patience. It was your first day at this school, and you were _still _reading. Not being much a reader in the first place, you would much rather be spending your free time doing something else. Preferably not something that involved flipping thin pages of text.

You clapped your book shut, resting your forearms on the table in front of you. _Les Misérables by Victor Hugo... Done._

You had no friends at this school. You didn't have a laptop, computer, or even _internet_at home, so that sliced out a whole variety of options. You were low on money, and you sure as heck weren't going to use your savings to buy a computer when you could always use the ones at the libraries. You had been living off leftovers for the past week, and you didn't feel like whipping up a big fancy dinner if no one was going to eat it except your self. That sucked, too. Cooking was something that you were awfully good at and you really did enjoy doing, besides running.

_Ahh. Running. _You snorted. Enduring a few laps was always a good idea, but you didn't feel like running in your sweater and cropped sweats, preferably because it was bloody hot outside. You had a T-shirt in your locker, but...

You thought back earlier to your gym class. There was a Female and Male class of the same grade in the same block, and they were written as one, single class in the computer directory. Still, the teacher separated the two groups based on gender. You had just tried to enter the change rooms before class, but the thought of entering them again... and having the girls scream at you to get out... again...

You had been mistaken for a boy, and before you could go around to explain yourself, you had landed yourself in the boy's side of the class. You shrugged it off, already not caring. It was the same when entering washrooms; the girls would scream at you. You managed to change before class in a washroom, or inside a stall and none of the guys knew you well enough to bother questioning. Of course, that also meant subjecting yourself to urinals and half-naked guys, but you really weren't about to fawn over some spoiled kids with more pocket change than your savings. It was a turn-off in itself. You might as well be entering a washroom filled with naked hippopotamuses.

The door was ruthlessly thrown open, derailing your train of thought. You cleared your throat and began to depart as teenagers from wealthy families started pouring in.

_The guys wear periwinkle blue, and the girls wear daffodil yellow. What kind of colour co-ordination is this? _You couldn't help but think as you squished past them invisibly.

You walked to the second music room and were introduced to a couple making out passionately on a desk. They glanced over at you and glared before you pulled the door shut as quickly as you could. Cheeks still red, you headed for the third.

It was your first day at this Ouran High School beside the interviews and application process. It was the first day back from Summer Break for the rest of the students, but it still hadn't taken anyone long to notice that there was a new transfer in their grade.

With your red hair, you attracted attention. Even the person who cut your hair who didn't know you at all said it was such a shame to cut it all away since it only barely went past the shoulder anyway. Your mom responded to the opinion with merely a glare, reminding the woman that she was the one getting paid.

Not wanting to draw attention in the school year, you wore a hat to hide your hair. You had a pair of non-prescribed glasses, too, that you kept handy if you ever needed to _really_conceal yourself. It wasn't that hard to blend into the background at a prestigious school like this. They muttered about you behind your back and gave you scrutinizing glances. The nicer ones would sometimes offer a 'hello' or a look of pity. You usually ducked your head and bowed, continuing on your way to class. Just play the poor, lonely nerd and none of the spoiled brats would ever even get within a meter of you, which is basically what you were after. You didn't even want them breathing the same air as you, after all.

It was hard with your appearance. While you loved your bright red hair with a passion when you were younger, now that you were older, it - excuse your hyperbole - sucked rhinoceros balls. It was hard to match your clothes to the prominent color and you were freaking prematurely balding or something because you left some strands of red hair nearly everywhere you went. There were a couple of cases where you walked past someone in a restaurant and a strand of red hair landed in their food. Being the only one with red hair of the color, you were obviously the culprit and thus kicked out because, well, honestly? No one wants some stranger's hair in their food. Yourself included.

You halted at the Third Music Room's door and reached out for the handle. The door clicked open, and it swung open with a powerful wind.

The events that followed left your fumbling to get your glasses. A chorus of voices, a swirl of cherry blossom petals, and a blinding white light.

From experience, you knew that this wasn't such a good sign.

_"Welcome."_

**-X-**

"... Sorry, wrong room," you choked out in Japanese dialect, nearly gagging yourself. You pinched your nose quickly before clutching your book tighter to your chest.

"Oh. It's the new guy in class. " A pair of twins drawled. They looked nearly identical, with their orange hair and topaz eyes. You recognized them from your woodworking and gym class. There was one in each. You remembered them complaining to the teacher about how they had never been separated before, and to suddenly do so was against everything they stood for.

"This is the Ouran Host Club, my boy," said a blonde, as he danced towards you, gliding over the floor like he was floating.

His words made you grimace and gulp. You shuffled backward and tried to feel for the doorhandle. _Host Club? _"Crap. Noo. Definitely wrong room. I was looking for-"

"Such a turn off like you... I thought only the good looking ones were homo. Look, even his shoes have holes in them! How unsightly!" The twins commented. You soured on the inside and looked down at your toes, where just like you had expected, your toe had broken through your worn out sneakers.

Well, it wasn't your fault, really. Your feet hadn't grown in a long time so you never needed new ones, and it wasn't broken that morn- _Hold it. Did he just...?_

You squinted cautiously at him. "Did.. Did you just call me homo-"

"Well, it was never stated that boys weren't allowed, thought you are making us start a bit ahead of schedule. We don't open for another hour, but since you're a newcomer... Take your pick."

"Pick? O-of what? AH- No, forget I asked!" You continued to fumble for the door handle, not finding it. You turned around and fiddled with the door, only to find it a different kind of knob from the on on the outside. Your brain blanked; how do you open this?

"The Wild type?" You turned around, meeting the gaze of the blonde with blue eyes as he gestured to a tall, handsome man with black hair. You sucked in a breath and tried hard not to stare; he was extremely handsome.

"Loli-Shota type?" He pointed to a shorter blonde boy, cutely clutching a rabbit plushy. He bounced up and down happily, and you could almost make out imaginary flowers floating around him.

"The Little Devil type?" The two twins winked in unison, interlacing arms. You cleared your throat and tried desperately to ignore how every guy in the room was a solid eight or nine on a ten scale.

"The Cool Type?" He was not as tall as the first boy, but he also had black hair. He also wore a pair of glasses, and they glinted from the way they were reflected in the light.

"Or Haruhi?" You nearly smiled how the last person didn't have a 'type'-

_Wait._

_A._

_Freakin'._

_Second._

_Haruhi? Haruhi FUJIOKA?_

"Or... perhaps, you'd like to try me?" In the midst of your thoughts, you hardly realized the position you were in until the blonde boy had tucked one arm on your back. He leaned you back and reached forward to cup your chin, but not before you kicked him hard in the leg and staggered back.

"I'M NOT HOMO, GEEZ!" He cringed, stepping back before staring at you with sympathy. You scratched the bridge of your nose. You hated that look. Made you want to slap him...

"First of all," you started, struggling to keep your composure, or whatever was left of it, "I accidentally stumbled in here, and I'm not looking for a...a _host_. And secondly, what's a _girl _doing in a _host _club?"

"What are you talking about? Haruhi is fully male!" Tamaki gestured to Haruhi, as if presenting him to an audience.

"How'd you know I was talking about _Haruhi_? A bit quick to react, aren'tcha?" you replied smoothly, smirking. You could identify a look of confusion on her face, long eyelashes fluttering an she blinked. She hadn't change very much in terms of appearance; still beautiful.

"My, you figured that out quite fast," the sly looking boy with the glasses remarked, giving you a side glance. You tried not to look at him. Well, to be completely honest, it was rather hard to look at any them without feeling bad about yourself...

"I've always had a good eye for things," you explained, tilting your head down to drop the glasses lower on your nose bridge. Your ember eyes blinked playfully at Haruhi. "'Eyes like a hawk' was my nickname in Elementary school-"

"K-Kyo-chan?" Haruhi exclaimed, brushing past a stone cold and confused Host Club.

You grinned brightly, suddenly overwhelmed with nostalgia. "Hey there, Cuz."

"I didn't recognize you! You're hiding your hair! When'd you need glasses?" Haruhi took you by the hands and smiled brightly. You beamed back, embracing her with all the memories you both had.

"This is my cousin, Tagara Kyo-" Haruhi introduced.

Tamaki interrupted. "Ah! Of course! If he's Haruhi's cousin, then that must make him a commoner as well! No wonder such behavior was inflicted on me."

You glared at him, sending him to a corner to sulk.

"So... What is Haruhi doing in a host club?" you asked, still having Haruhi in your arms from the hug. You used to be shorter than her by a few centimeters, but now you were a full 3 inches taller than her.

She looked at you apologetically. "I.. kind of.. owe them a huge debt..."

"_Debt?_" you repeated incredulously. "At _your _age? What did you do, Haruhi? Steal a family heirloom? Or did your dad finally try to use gambling as a ways to earn money?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. Dad isn't gambling. I broke... an eight million yen vase..."

You blinked, nudging her playfully in the head. "... Smooth, Fujioka."

"At first it was eight million, but I somehow got fifty-six thousand seven hundred eighty two paid off so I have-"

"Seven million, nine hundred forty three thousand, two hundred and eighteen left to pay off..." you cut her off, grinning cheekily.

"Just like Haruhi: A studious Commoner," the twins commented, and you frowned at their comment. It seemed more like disappointed tone than a complimenting one.

"However, they said they'd lift the debt if I became a host and got a thousand girls to request me, soo..." You nodded, taking it all in. Seriously, you wished you had been there to help her when it had happened.

Kyouya smirked. "How about we make a deal? You can become the Host Club's dog and help Haruhi pay off her debt while you do it?"

You looked up hopefully. "Really? I can still help out?"

Haruhi furrowed her eyebrows. "No way! I can't drag Kyo into this-"

"Hey, it's fine." You smiled at her. "I'll help you out, Haruhi. What's family for?"

"But, still-" Haruhi took your hands, but you winked at her, earning stiffening postures from the host club.

"I've needed something to pass time, anyways, and no one is hiring me for a job, so whatever. It's not like I'm being asked to be a host, now, right? Leave it to me, Cousin!"

After a moment of eye compromising, Haruhi sighed. That meant the operation was a 'Ready-Go.'

You sucked in a shaky breath and tried your best to sound confident. "So when do I start?"

**-X-**

Mitsukuni, more commonly referred to as Honey, was the short blonde with the bunny. It had shocked you to learn that he was in high school, and his senior year, but hey; this was a wacky group in general.

Takashi, who was called Mori most of the time, was the tall black haired boy that you had caught yourself blushing about. You learned that not only was he quiet and non outspoken, but his family served under Mitsukuni's.

Tamaki, the blonde hair and blue eyes. You disliked him. A lot. Haruhi had laughed when you called him narcissistic and obnoxious.

Kyouya, the black haired boy with glasses, also known as 'The Evil Magistrate', earning a chuckle from you. He seemed like the controlling type of the group, which only explained how he was in charge of all the merit and income of the group.

Hikaru and Kaoru, the devilish twins. From what you knew, they were identical from each other, and two of the biggest spoiled, asses you had ever met. With two of them, there were two times the spoil, and all the more for you to not respect.

With that, Haruhi declared the brief introductions over. Easy peasy.

After that, however, was another matter.

They weren't kidding when they said you were going to be the Host Club's _dog._

_Scrubbing the dishes, wiping the windows, cleaning the tables, pouring tea and to do it all without 'being noticed' by any of the customers? Am I that much of an eyesore? _You looked at your reflection in the mirror. You had a plain face. Without your hair color, which could have been dyed for all anyone cared, you were just average. No bust, not curves in any of the right places, and even a few scars on your knees from tripping and skidding on concrete as a kid - which was another reason why you were wearing baggy sweat pants instead of a skirt. You know, that, and the fact that you couldn't stand skirts. Maybe if you had gorgeous, scar-free, perfectly proportioned legs that every girl around you in the school seemed to have, then maybe.

You threw the washcloth at the window angrily and watched it slide downwards until you picked it up again and started washing the windows, fueled by the fact that you were helping Haruhi. You scrubbed your face reflected in the mirror several times.

"This... wasn't what I thought you would be having Kyo do," Haruhi sighed, whispering to Kyouya during a break.

"Kyoooo! Pour us some tea!" Hikaru called from a table. You glared at him for calling you by your first name and took off your rubber gloves. Swiping the kettle with a finger, you bolted over, pouring hot tea into the tea cups and bowed away politely. The girls looked you up and down before rolling their eyes slightly. You flushed white and turned around, sighing as you put your rubber gloves back on. Haruhi sighed again.

"What did you think we were going to have him do? With that get up, he's lucky he's not mistaken for a intruder in this kind of school," Kyouya replied cooly. He sipped his cup of tea and placed the empty cup back on the saucer.

Haruhi sucked in her lips. "But-!"

"It would take him a millennium to pulll off being a gentleman. Look at the way he walks: it's rigid and almost a _swagger_. He wears a hideous hat and unstylish glasses that cover his eyes and make him look suspicious. He's hiding his whole face. Do you have any objections now, Haruhi-kun?"

She blinked at Kyouya several times before glaring at him. She whipped around to tend to her customers "Cruel."

You looked over at Haruhi holding a conversation with Kyouya. She seemed to walk away haughtily, and you guessed that Kyouya had said something to offend her. You huffed, nearing the line of beating his ass. Haruhi glanced over and caught your worried gaze and smiled, giving you a thumbs-up. "Good luck, Kyo-chan!" she mouthed. You beamed, sending a thumbs up back and went back to work, more energized.

Kyouya simply continued to type on his laptop, fingers never stopping except to use the mouse. He saw your little exchange of encouragement with Haruhi and held back the urge to roll his eyes. He reached out to drink another sip from the cup, only to remember it was empty. He parted his lips to call for your name before realizing that the cup was full of hot, steamy green tea.

_When did he-? _Kyouya glanced back up at you, gliding among the guests and literally chucking the kettle back on the table and going back to wash the windows, all with swift, fluid movements with amazing speed.. Kyouya's brain began to race and a funny feeling turned in his stomach as an idea popped in his head. Once being cheered on by Haruhi, your entire mannerism had changed. You back was straight, posture right, gentle movements and lean arms, red lips, long eyelash-

...

"Tagara." You glanced over at Kyouya, who was summoning you over. "Come over here for a second."

_'... He's hiding his whole face...'_

Now, you weren't usually that stupid despite being gullible, but you should have suspected something when Kyouya shot you such a curious look. He was staring intently at your eyes, or more specifically, your glasses.

"Ah," you gasped, raising a finger to fix them higher onto your bridge. "D-do you need to borrow them? Your glasses seem to be fine, though, and I don't think mine would help you see anything any clearer since they're um... Uh, Kyouya?"

You barely had time to suspect any other motives when Kyouya stood up and slid off your glasses.

**The first light bulb flickered on.**

**-X-**

"Host?" you choked out just like you had when you first walked into the heavy perfume smelling room.

"Yes. Becoming a host will help Haruhi pay off her debt even faster," Kyouya suggested, laptop opened to a blank screen on the table as he faced you. You considered for a moment before backing away from the idea completely.

"No way. I have enough trouble making friends that are girls, let's not even _talk_ about getting them to want to spend time with me drinking... _tea._"

"I implore you to rethink-"

"Whatcha two talkin' bout? Asking for a raise?" One of the twins leaned over your head as you sat on the couch. You blushed at the proximity and looked down. The other twin scoffed.

"Did I hear that right? Kyo wants to spend time with girls drinking tea? Ha!"_ They're both jerks, aren't they? _you pondered unpleasantly.

"Stop calling me by my first name," you growled, "Not like I know you well at all... And besides, I was _rejecting_ the idea of drinking tea with girls, not _suggesting _it."

"That means... Kyouya, you asked this little lame-o to be a host!" the one over your head asked, and you simmered in annoyance as they continued to disrespectfully address you. You flicked at your nose in habit and rolled your eyes.

"Impossible!" Tamaki strode over, shoulders shrugged. "This lad here? He's such a turn-off," he reached out and plucked off your hat, "that no girl would ever want to..."

You gasped as your red strands fell down to curl around your forehead. You immediate response was to cover your head with your hands and curl up your body to make yourself smaller. "Give that back! My hair's a mess without that hat!"

A moment of silence followed and you slowly glanced up.

"Hey, are you guys bullying Kyo?" Honey and Mori walked over, stopping at the sight of flames embracing your skull. You squeaked meekly as girls began turning their heads to wonder what was up. You covered your face. Hikaru turned you around to face him and Kaoru snatched off your glasses. You hadn't felt more exposed before as you closed your eyes after staring at him for a few seconds in shock. Pushing Hikaru and Kaoru aside, Tamaki stared at you right in the face. You cracked open an eye to see if the coast was clear and widened them again when you saw Tamaki studying your appearance. Suddenly, he snapped his finger.

"Hikaru, Kaoru! Go get him a uniform! Kyouya, you call the hair designer!" Tamaki sported a humorless tone on his handsome features. "Ouran Host Club, Extreme makeover, is about to begin."

Haruhi smiled, leaning against a pillar and glanced thankfully at the Host Club in a frenzy. "Deja vu..."

**-X-**

Hikaru and Koaru were called by Kyouya, so fortunately, they left you alone to change. Creeping out of the curtains, you saw a mirror leaning against a wall and walked over to it, earnest to see what you looked like.

You were in the school uniform, except you weren't in a puffy, revolting yellow dress. You were in a classy slim fitted blazer: periwinkle.

Meant for the males.

You laughed, looking at yourself up and down in the mirror. You nodded in approval and gave your reflection a thumbs up.

"DATTEBAYO(1)! TAGARA!"

**-X-**

"Magnifi-coh! Astoun-doh!" Tamaki wiped away an imaginary tear as you nervously dawdled out of the room and into the Host Club's view.

"Um... This costs a lot, doesn't it?" You looked down at yourself. "I seriously can't afford this-"

"Then you'll just have to work it off," Kyouya said, typing on his laptop.

"I'M ADDING MORE TO HARUHI'S DEBT-?" You blurted as Haruhi patted your back.

"It's alright. I'm glad you're helping me out anyways, Kyo-chan." She smiled, which made you sheepishly simper back, fidgeting with the hem of your blazer. "Besides, if you're that keen on blending in, wearing the school uniform will do wonders. There's still the matter of your hair, but I think you should be proud of what your dad gave you, Kyo-chan!"

Mori hummed lowly in his throat, Haruhi didn't seem like the girly type to be calling everyone with '-chan', despite her gender.

But she had called you Kyo-chan.

Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan.

Kyo-**CHAN.**

**Another light bulb blinked on.**

**-X-**

You were seated with six girls.

SIX GIRLS.

**SIX **GIRLS.

SIX **GIRLS.**

**SIX GIRLS.**

"Tagara-kun? What do you enjoy doing?"

"What do you look for in a girl?"

"How tall are you, Tagara-kun?"

"Tagara-kun, which classes are you in?"

"Hobbies? Interests? Dislikes? Likes?"

"Tagara-san? How come for the last few weeks, you've been wearing a hat?"

You twitched. You felt like your were seated on a chair of thorns, or in one of those Iron Maiden Torture devises you had read about that was going to clamp shut at any given moment. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up as the girls seemed to be challenging your authority and worth, with their wide, unblinking gazes. Your mouth dried up and you stammered for the right words.

"Kyo-chan doesn't seem to be comfortable," Mitsukuni noticed, pouting sympathetically as he looked over his couch at you trembling lightly and becoming a stuttering mess.

"Ah," Takashi agreed, sipping some tea. There were very few girl customers at sixe, and most of them were requesting Tamaki and the Twins at the time, so Mitsukuni and Takashi were lounging on a couch simply eating biscuits and drinking green tea.

Mitsukuni smiled and an idea sparked in his mind as he skipped over from behind to help you out, when...

"Kyo-kun, you're pretty cute. You look just like a girl."

The shaky cup that you were bringing to your dehydrated mouth missed as soon as she said 'cute', followed by the horror of her remarking about your femininity. You blushed and attempted to deny such unworthy words, before you realized that you had dumped your tea on the floor. You got up and turned around apologetically to fetch a mop when you looked down at your feet and saw Mitsukuni's head drenched with your tea.

"WAH!" You jolted back, and then bent down to eye level with Mistukuni. "I-I'm so sorry, H-Haninozuka-san!"

Your hands hovered over your blazer pockets before remembering that it was a new jacket and you didn't have your handkerchief. "I-I'm sorry..." You apologized, nervously but tenderly brushing his face with your fingers as he stared at you, bewildered, eyes as wide as saucers. "D-Did it burn you? It was quite hot. I-I...!" You sighed in defeat, picking up the broken porcelain cup pieces and putting them back on the table. You took Mitsukuni's fingers and checked them for cuts, asking him if it hurt anywhere. He shook his head slowly. You put one knee up and rested your arm on it, searching Mitsukuni for any traces of anger or the need to slap you. You choked out, "I'm really not good at anything... I'm sorry..."

He stared at you as you recklessly forgot about the debt you owed for the uniform. You took it off and put in around him in order to keep him warm. You had fought off the urge to hug the adorable thing for a long time now, and with your shaky heart you leapt out and him and embraced him warmly. "I'm really sorry, Haninozuka-senpai!"

**Honey's light bulb flashed on.**

Takashi walked over and picked up Honey after you were done hugging him. "I'll take care of him."

"A-ah... Yeah..." Nervously and thoroughly humiliated, you sat back in your seat wearing just your white shirt and tie. You were totally done for. You looked like such a failure.

Which caught you off guard when the girls were blushing furiously at you, looking away. You considered maybe you hadn't lost all hope before concluding that they were disgusted to even be seated with you.

"I-... I'm sorry," you offered meekly.

"Kya!" One girl couldn't hold it anymore. "I want to spill tea on me just so Tagara-kun will worry about me."

_...WHAT?_

"Me too! That was so cool! So loving!"

You stared at the girls like they had a giant fungus mushroom growing on their heads. Didn't you just make a complete utter fool of yourself? You spilled tea all over the poor guy's head! And you didn't even know what to do or say, except stutter and apologize, which in the end really doesn't help at all...

"A Natural Rookie, just like Haruhi. We could use some more commoners," Kyouya smirked from behind his rimless glasses. Haruhi grinned brightly in your direction, which you responded to by shrugging. Funny how girls worked sometimes.

After the whole controversy of you being the center of attention and displaying your full idiocy, you were seated uncomfortably in front of six curiosity-sparked girls.

You really wished you hadn't given your jacket to Mitsukuni, now. You felt naked. Like everyone could see right through you to your deepest, darkest secrets. As if you had "OH LOOK AT ME, I'M NOT GOOD AT ANYTHING!" slapped in bold letters over your forehead. You gulped as your palms sweat and your fingers laced together on top of the table.

"Ladies, uh.. I don't really know how this works-" you began hesitantly, feeling grateful when a girl interrupted you to start a conversation.

"So, Tagara-san... Can you tell us about your hair? It's a very natural kind of red, where do you get your hair done?" One girl asked politely. She seemed a bit more considerate and her tone was less demanding and sly than the rest. You licked your lips before answering.

"Well, it was originally a mandarin orange kind of shade but as I got older... It became like _this_." You used your eyes to gesture to your hair and smiled faintly. "I quite like my hair, but it can be a pain sometimes. You know, I stand out like a sore thumb in the middle of a crowd if I don't have a hat on!"

A few girls giggled, which lifted your mood. Hey, maybe you could redeem yourself.

"Which parent did you get it from? Don't tell me you're a miracle child and just grew up with that for no reason~" a girl teased, which rewarded a small laugh from you.

"My dad. Mom had the common Japanese black hair, while my dad, uh... Well, I'm not sure who my dad got it from, but unfortunately my hair is a lot brighter than his was from what I've seen. Maybe it was just as fiery when he was young, though."

Haruhi's ears perked up as you talked about your father. She glanced over curiously from her table before a girl's question demanded her attention again and she briefly glanced in your direction before tending to her.

"Eh? I bet he's as charming as Kyo-san." A girl praised, leaning on the back of her hand, and staring at you dreamily.

Your mind reminisced of your dad when you were a toddler. The most loving man in the world. You faintly flashed back to snapshots of your times together. He had helped you build a small boat and let it out on the pond, with you, a small child of 6, clapped your hands energetically and laughed as if it were the most amazing thing in the world. He'd kiss your mom every morning in the kitchen and smother you with poetic words about how you both meant the world to him. Just random small details that other children might roll their eyes at and forget, but you kept them so close to your heart. When he died, your world had crashed, and your universe still had yet to fill the void. You smiled delicately as slow piano music suddenly started playing from the back of your imagination. "I couldn't catch up to him even if I were on a rocket."

"And your mom? Sorry if this is a touchy subject," the girl with brown locks tilted her head cutely to the side and stuck out her tongue. You wondered how they did that and pulled it off looking so adorable. You had tried doing it in the mirror once, and you swore to never do it again to save yourself the humiliation of being laughed at...

"She's a bit loony, but that's how all mom's are, aren't they? She drives me crazy, but I love her all the more. Why don't you tell me about _your _families? I'm sure it's much more interesting than mine," was your lame attempt to direct the attention away from you.

"Oh! Well my grandpa is a famous Olympic High Jumper..." she went on as you had hoped. Resting your face on your palm, you found yourself observing the way her face looked when she talked. These girls weren't normal. They could bawl their eyes out and their eyes wouldn't swell. They could laugh loudly and it would still look cute.

Completely the opposite of you. You leaned back and sighed.

"Are we boring you, Tagara-kun?" A girl on the side remarked, staring at you with concern laced in her features.

"No. I'm just sighing at how beautiful the three of you are," you answered truthfully, caught up in your own thoughts before realizing what you had said. "AH! I mean, n-not in a jealous or envying way. It's just... well, uh..."

The three of then were blushing, cheeks a bright red as one of them sat up. "It seems our 15 minutes is up, Tagara-kun."

You bit your lip in horror as the other two stood up. You had done it, now.

"I hope you don't mind... if we sit with you again another day." Your jaw dropped a tad as you perked up and smiled charmingly back.

"Oh, uh: Y-Yes! Please do! I wouldn't never mind your company," you answered, laughing in relief as they smiled warmly back. You bowed as they walked out the door and the final batch came in to request their host.

"You did a good job, Kyo!" Haruhi complimented you, patting you on the back.

"That was possibly the hardest thing I've had to do in a loooong while. Man, do I have to work on building up some confidence at meeting new people! I'm going to go take a break, not like anyone's going to request me, anyway-"

"We'd like a Tagara Kyo, please!" piped the leader of one trio group of girls.

"Ehh? Wait a sec- We were going to request him!" A batch of girls giggled, stepping up.

"Oh, seems like we've got some competition, ladies," a short haired one remarked.

You blinked several times, musing stupidly if there was another Tagara Kyo in the school. "A-are they requesting me?"

"Seems like the girls you were just with went out giggling like they had just been proposed to. They were discussing your name fairly loudly, my boy," Tamaki explained, coming up from behind you. He placed a firm hand on your shoulder. "You've got some talent on your side, haven't you?"

"Talent?" you repeated incredulously.

He displayed a dashing smile on his face, which frazzled your stomach. "Perhaps my new son has what it takes to be a host."

You looked up at him, your heart skipping a beat. Did he just... tell you...

'... has what it takes to be a host.'

He just complimented you, didn't he?

"Thanks, Tamaki-senpai." Tamaki looked surprised as you answered him with such warmth. You looked up at him and beamed as reassuiringly and thankfully as you could manage and patted him on the back. "Y'know, you're a lot cooler than I thought you would be!"

Your words caused him to blush and walk away as you laughed softly. Haruhi nudged you in the side. "You seem to be in a good mood, now. How are you holding up? They haven't discovered that you're a... you know, _girl_, yet."

You winked playfully at her. "Now how about I come over to your place at night and we can _mingle mingle_?"

Haruhi chuckled and punched your arm playfully. "Careful not to let this side of you show in front of the ladies, Kyo. Kyouya and the rest of the guys might just use it against you!"

"Anything for you, my lovely Haruhi! Y'know, maybe I'm better off as a guy! Being a girl never suited me anyway!"

"What are you talking about, Kyomi! You're adorable," Haruhi replied, pinching your cheeks and lecturing you like a mother while you held your hands up like you were caught red handed.

Tamaki halted in his tracks.

_Kyo**mi?**_

Better off as a **guy**? Being a **girl**never suited... her...

...

**_Another light bulb began to shine brightly._**

Just as Tamaki was about to open his mouth and blurt out the worst possible words for your behalf, Kyouya latched a hand on Tamaki's shoulder and pulled him backwards to have a nice, little chat.**  
**

**-X-**

_(1) That was, indeed, reference to Naruto's catchphrase. Just wanted to throw that in there for more pizzazz (:_

YEAH, I'M ENDING IT HERE. WORD.

_**MYA HA HA.**_

Hitachiin romance will come later, BUT I NEED TO ASK:

**Do you only want ONE twin romance, or do you want BOTH twins? I'm quite alright with both, actually.**

**_But if it's ONE twin, tell me which one you prefer~ They're both magically delicious, anyways (: _  
**


	2. On a Date With Haruhi? ::02::

**-X-**

**Chapter 2: On A Date With Haruhi?**

**-X-**

"Kyo! Want to go catch a movie today afterschool?" Haruhi suggested. You watched in amusement and Haruhi chewed on a sausage. Japanese culture was so weird! Why do they make the sausage so short an stubby, then disperse the ends to make it look like a tiny octopus? The weirdos...

"Sure! Am I on snacks, as usual?" You slurped at your Spaghetti Bolognaise.

"Yup. I'm on tickets. And we're _not _watching a hor-"

"Let's watch a horror movie!" You twittered happily, bringing your fork high up into the air with a string of spaghetti. You let it dangle over your open mouth, as you couldn't aim it right above your mouth, so it kept hitting your nose. Haruhi stared at your little display (of idiocy) with disinterest.

"...Kyo-chan, I think you should lay off the horror movies. We've been watching those a lot lately. I think they might be... affecting your health."

"That's because there's nothing else interesting to watch." You used your jaw and lips to aim the toothpick in different angles before engulfing it completely into your mouth.

"Kyo! Stop doing that! You'll choke!"

"On a toothpick? Are you seri- GAH!" You started coughing loudly, hitting your chest with your fist, trying to cough something up.

"Uwah! L-look what you did! I'm going to get a doc-"

You burst out laughing. "Relax, Haru-chan! I was kidding. You're such a worry-butt!"

"That's because you're important to me, Kyo-chan!" Haruhi sighed, sitting back down to eat from her bento, as you laughed some more.

**-X-**

It was lunch, and just like any other day, Haruhi and you had occupied the rooftop to eat peacefully, occasionally making plans with each other and joking around. For these two, it was completely normal cousin 'hey! Let's watch a movie!' and 'Ohmygosh, you tricked me, you retarded ape!' behavior.

But to the raving fan girls of the school that spied on them each and everyday, it was something _more._

"Oh my gosh, they're going on another date. This is the fourth one this week!"

"How they match each other so well... It makes me so _jealous!_" she growled, looking through binoculars.

"Haru, nose!" You leaned over to flip a piece of rice off of Haruhi's nose as she flinched.

"Hey, Kyo! That hurt!"

"Baby!"

"I'm not a baby!" Haruhi huffed.

The girls squealed. _Haruhi is so cuuute!_

You smirked wickedly for spite. "You're right. My Haru-chama is far naughtier than an innocent little baby..."

The girls squealed. _Kyo is so hooott!_

You teasingly pinched Haruhi's cheeks, laughing out loud (like an insane moron) as Haruhi tried to fight you off (like a spoiled house cat). The girls, however, ignored this show of friendship to scurry off and plot something.

**-X-**

"Kyo-chan..." The girls hesitantly tested out calling you the name that Haruhi called you. You hadn't caught the '-chan', or the suspense from the girls and therefore your response was extremely casual.

"Hmm? Yes, ladies?" you asked, pouring some tea into their cups.

They blushed crimson. You glanced up briefly and wondered if you were forgetting something from your hourly training sessions with Tamaki during the week (which were _not_ fun). _Serve the ladies tea and smile charmingly. Always answer with a positive attitude and compliment them. Remember skin ship. Those are the basics, _you reminded yourself and coughed lightly before settling the teakettle onto the table as silently as you could, smiling briefly to the ladies.

"Is your relationship with Fujioka-san... Considered secret?"

_What relationship?_ You blinked baffled. _Ah! They must mean the fact that we're cousins._

"Oh! Y-you mean that! H-how did you guys knows, because we didn't tell a lot of people and... and we don't _look_ like it, do we? I mean, it's not like it's obvious." You gulped, meaning that appearance wise, you were quite inferior to Haruhi. Sure, you had a blast of red hair, but you'd give up unique hair (that you could simply get a haircut for and dye) for a pretty face. Besides, in your eyes, Haruhi was beautiful, with her chocolate brown hair and eyes, wide like an owl's. She had a small frame while you possessed a larger ribcage and broader shoulders, allowing you to pull off the illusion of being a boy a bit better than her. You had to admit, Haruhi was quite a good looking person to anyone, boy or girl. "B-besides, Haruhi and I are more like best friends and s- _brothers _than anything. It's not like it's a big deal or anything, but... I appreciate if you kept it in the dark... I don't want any rumors spreading around about, I don't know, false pretenses?" Who knew what they would say! The last thing you wanted was to be compared to each other just because you were related!

Your stupidity was going to get you killed someday.

You blushed after you realized you'd spoken a bit too much, which was you habit once you got nervous, or was posed with a question you didn't quite know how to answer smoothly. The girls, however, were suddenly extremely red, hypnotized with the fact that you and Haruhi were... were..!

**FORBIDDEN LOVERS! _KYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_**

They stood up in their seats, a fire of zest burning in their eyes. You blinked in obliviousness.

"We," they began, "will protect your love!"

"...Uh..." _Cousin love? Suuure... They're as weird as it gets, anyways, _you shrugged. "Thanks, girls! I'm grateful for your support!"

Their faces bloomed pink as you gave them a dazzling smile: that oblivious, completely sincere beam that you were known for. Also known as the way you smiled when you had no idea how else to react. They always seemed to react kindly to your oblivious smiling, so... It can't hurt, right?

The twins glanced at each other, over hearing the conversation. _Kyo and Haruhi are... lovers? _They laughed out loud. _How stupid! Those two are cousins!_

"Ahh, Hikaru, Kaoru," Kyouya shouted from a table, tending to a few guests. "Mizuki-san told me an interesting fact that other day."

Hikaru and Kaoru smirked in his direction, and a few girls swooned in response after catching their eye. "What is it?" they asked in unison.

"Cousins can get married in Japan."

You laughed as one of the girls at your table told an amusing joke, and you nodded your head eagerly as another girl asked if they could request you again next time.

"I didn't know that, did you? I just wanted to share such an interesting... _discovery_."

Haruhi began a conversation with the girls at her table about singing, embarrassingly admitting she wasn't good at it and chuckled nervously.

_Let the Games begin. _Kyouya held back the urge to sadistically smirk when Hikaru and Kaoru both frowned in annoyance and backed away to feign more forbidden incestuous love.

**-X-**

"Hah, checkmate."

"Dammit, Haruhi, I demand a rematch!"

"You'd only lose again, Kyo-chan," Haruhi purred, a smug smile on her face.

"I SAID I WANT A RE-!"

"SSSHH!" reprimanded the librarian, sending the two of you harsh glares.

"We gotta be quiieeeeet..." you said, turning your head cautiously to Haruhi's direction.

"Haaaaai," she played along, grinning widely.

"Or else the _hag's _gonna stalk us in our sleep."

A muffled snigger. "And we wouldn't want that."

"Nope, nope."

"Nopedy, nope-a-dope."

"OH _HECK NO_, FUJIOKA, _I _USED TO SAY THAT!"

"SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!"

Haruhi burst into a fit of giggles and you buried your face into your sleeve. Lucky no one from this rich kids school ever came to the library or else they would have questioned your strangely girly conversation. Haruhi and you only ever laughed and became what you called 'girls' when you were alone and together.

_An ear nearby twitched as your laughter resounded through the empty library._

"Let's go before she really does decide to take our pictures and pin up 'Wanted' posters." You rolled both your eyes, hanging the expensive blue uniform coat over your right shoulder and your school bag dangling in your left. Haruhi took her bag and put it in front of her, carrying the handle with both hands, absentmindedly kicking her bag with her knees as she walked.

_They looked at each other in alarm. This looked awfully like a scene in a manga with... the cool guy escorting the innocent girl out._

"When's the Show time?" Haruhi asked, still playfully kicking the schoolbag with her knees. You looked at your watch, bag still in hand: 3:32pm.

"Mmm... During Tech, I snuck on to see and the nearest show time from now is 4:20."

"What do you wanna do in the meantime?"

_They're going to see a movie?_

Haruhi repeated, "Kyo?"

_They dove into a twin pair of bushes, scurrying along with the clueless couple, at the same time listening intently for anything else that might interest them._

"HUH?" you jolted upright in surprised and searched the premises before looking apologetically at Haruhi. You blushed in embarrassment of your sudden paranoia, kneading your neck with your fingers. "Oh, I, uh... Maybe I studied physics too long last night, but my neck is _killing_me!"

**-X-**

"Do you see that, Kaoru?" Hikaru's eyes were dull, the rest of his body snuggled within a bush.

"Hai. I see that, Hikaru." Kaoru's eyes wavered with disappointment. He couldn't take in the fact that... Haruhi? With their new host? He didn't think she was that kind of girl to be lured in so easily. A guy with such a scrawny appearance going for a girl like her was obviously not a coincidence. He had other motives. He could be hanging out with her for popularity! He wasn't that great of a looker, anyways!

"Tagara's getting-"

"-awfully close-"

"-to our toy," they ended simultaneously, out of pure (practice) habit.

They watched as a hint of red glittered onto your cheeks, and they frowned.

**-X-**

"Hatsumi-sama! Tagara-san seems to have just blushed!"

"Mariko!" Hatsumi responded courageously, pointing out a finger (as she sat on a golden framed, red thrown with two girls at her side fanning her.) She flipped her golden locks and stared forward towards the sun in determination."For the well-being of Haruhi-kun, we must protect his innocence!"

"H-HATSUMI-SAMA! Kyo seems to have made a move!" Mariko, a girl with a hazelnut brown bob and matching eyes reported dedicatedly as she noticed you pull on Haruhi's arm to run faster.

"SEND OUT TRAP NUMBER 84-"

"STOP right there!" A finger extended, soon revealing the full picture of another band of girls, also in their revolting yellow, puffy dresses. "Kyo-sama is very serious about this relationship with Haruhi, and we, his loyal aiding girls, will not let anything break them up, even if it means getting on our knees, or lathering our hands in blood!"

"Kyah! Kurumi-sama! That's such a scary thought!" a girl from the 'Kyo group' squealed. Kurumi, the leader of the Kyo fanclub nodded and threw her long black hair in a ponytail before replying with strength and willpower.

"Such a scary thought... IS NOTHING COMPARED TO OUR LOVE FOR TAGARA-SAMA AND HIS HAPPINESS!"

"Oh, what dedication!" the girls fanning the Haruhi Fanclub Empress praised.

"WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON!" Hatsumi scolded her two servants. "Tagara-san seems to have a fanclub made within his first week, eh? I see... then, we are opposing groups... I suppose that..."

The two groups of girls glowered at each other competitively, a(n imaginary) sunset background illuminating them. "This means war!"

**-X-**

"... Haruhi, I'm going to die an early death," you whimpered, stooping over in you seat, hugging yourself for heat.

"EH! D-Doushite (Wh-Why), Kyo-chan?"

"I have the most insecure feeling... that I'm going to be assaulted or something..."

Ten pairs of shiny red eyes glared at your back through the dark back ends of the theatre, wishing your misfortune and suffering. You sneezed, making a few people glare back brusquely and scowl.

"I don't think we should watch this then-"

"NO. BRING ON THE GOR, THE BRAINS, AND THE GUTS!" you divulged loudly, unconsciously attracting more people to look at you.

A few girls in the front turned around in irritation. "Who the heck- OHMYGAWSH, BISHIES (1)!"

"WHERE?" you looked around eagerly for some eye candy as Haruhi hit your head softly.

"I'm pretty sure that they're talking about _us_, Kyo!" Haruhi waved a 'lecturing' finger.

"I totally knew that." You didn't have a very big weakness for cute guys in general, but your taste varied. The only one you found 'charming' in the Host Club was no other than: Haninozuka Mitsukuni, plus Morinozuka Takashi made you blush sometimes, too. You wouldn't mind a day at home with a guy like Takashi dressed in a butler suit, serving you cookies with tea... a bit of cake... and Cheetos...

Haruhi sighed, and you decided to imitate her, sighing and slouching in your seat.

**-X-**

"Okay, seriously! I feel really uncomfortable! My heart is almost leaping out of my chest! What the heck!" You whispered harshly to Haruhi midway the movie. The back of your head was throbbing, and you could have sworn you felt a few hands reach for your feet a few times during the movie, but you brought them up at the slightest sensation of tickling.

"That might be because the mother just got her tongue ripped out?" Haruhi responded sarcastically, not taking her eyes off the gore and blood splatter from the wide screen.

"I'm not affected by the movie, Haru! ...Whatever," you sighed, knowing it was hopeless. Maybe horror movies were finally starting to get to you, even though you never a problem even with Nightmare on Elm-

_Tht!_

You touched you head on impulse after something hit it lightly.

"REALLY? A _SPITBALL_!" _What grade are these jerks in!_

Occupants of the theatre stared at you with clear aggravation, ticked that some loud mouth brat was interrupting their movie.

"Kyo?" Haruhi mumbled, looking at you with concern. "What's wrong? Should we leave?"

"No," you gasped, sitting down obediently in your seat. "I'm just scared, you know, heh heh, nothing like blood and mutated eyeballs on the stomach, right? Heh heh..."

Haruhi blinked at you, disbelieving of such a lie, seeing as you had the best tolerance of Horror Movies she had ever seen, and _never_ had she seen you scared of anything short of a man chasing after you in real life with a chainsaw when you were both six, (Elementary School Teachers' prank — Not so funny) in which flowers seem to exude from the atmosphere as you, not sprinted, but _pranced_ away from the Chainsaw Guy and ended up making the whole thing a thousand times scarier than it was just because the whole scene was so confusing. The only movie which had even gotten _anywhere close_to disturbing you was probably the 1982 Movie: _The Thing_. Haruhi suggested that maybe you should have consulted a therapist after totally not being affected by watching the man's head sprout out insect legs, but you didn't seem to find it all that mentally scarring.

(That's _not _human.)

Hikaru and Kaoru watched in confusion as you continued to endure the girls' torturing and still sit soundly through the movies. The spitball, however, was their own little prank, since the girls had finally chickened out and couldn't sit through the film anymore, and it got a bit boring for the twins.

_This boy must like Haruhi a whole lot, _they observed, furrowing their eyebrows.

_Is he possibly going to... pass our test?_

**-X-**

The movie had ended and much to your delight, Haruhi offered to treat you to ice cream for the harsh day, which you could totally not pass up. After finishing your ice cream, you greedily eyed Haruhi's Mint Chocolate chip hungrily. Haruhi laughed before handing it over. You nearly tackled her out of happiness and thanked her being such a 'cutie-pie-nice-girl-squee-squee-haruhi-er'.

"Mm... maybe like... I killed someone in a past life, and this is their death day, so they're gonna haunt me. Or it's like... directly one century since it happened. Ooooh, scary..." You licked at the ice cream gratefully as Haruhi sighed.

"Are you feeling very unwell? I'm sorry for not doing anything about it earlier..." You patted her head as forgiveness and she chuckled as your old habit of patting heads hadn't disappeared.

"You know, this is going to sound so corny, but these past few days have been a somewhat dream, Kyo-chan." Hikaru and Kaoru's jaw tightened and lips pursed as they scooted a tad closer. Haruhi smiled softly. "I hadn't seen you so long, and I was beginning to think that either you hated me or something had happened to you..."

You crunched at the cone slowly and 'aww'ed loudly. "Haruhi-chan, kawaii (cute)! How could I ever hate you? I love you, Haru!"

Hikaru and Kaoru's vision nearly blurred. That confirmed all their suspicions. Kyo Tagara was obviously in love with Haruhi Fujioka.

They closed their parted mouths and seemed to be fighting out whether they should do something. Kaoru stared at his brother hopefully, knowing Hikaru was more of the type to act out. Hikaru gritted his teeth and stalked away and Kaoru chased after him worriedly, careful not to slip on the soaked, damaged cement.

**-X-**

"THAT DOES IT!" Hatsumi raged. "HARUHI-SAMA BUYS HIM ICE CREAM AND THEN THAT JERK SNATCHES IT! NOW HE'S PUT HARUHI IN SUCH A BAD POSITION WITH HIS CLAIM OF LOVE FOR HIM! HE'S SUCH A SADISTIC, PERVERTED, COW LICKING, BUTT BAFFOON SUCKING MOTHER OF STACK OF SHI-" Hatsumi seemed to be having a nervous breakdown and uttering nonsense curse words when Mariko finally clamped a hand over her swearing friend.

"You're a _lady_, Hatsumi-chan," Mariko reprimanded.

Hatsumi's eyes twitched outrageously. "HE. MUST. _DISAPPEAR!_"

**-X-**

Walking to a trashcan to throw your napkin and other garbage away, you looked up coincidentally to see two orange haired people of the same height standing by each other. They seemed to be talking, almost yelling at each other. One guy was in a longer, closed up, beige coat and a blue scarf while the other was wearing a shorter, dark brown jacket and some black and white T-shirt inside. Despite being in totally different attire, and at a distance, your eyes never failed you and you knew no one else with that height, hair style, and aura of casual attractiveness.

"Kaoru? Hikaru?" you blinked, and ran a little closer to see if it was who you thought it was. Haruhi blinked and followed you.

"It _is_ you guys! Hey!" you waved politely, finally taking notice of their angry expressions. Their glares caused you to slow down. _Wait... this feels familiar..._

"Ehh?" Haruhi came up from behind you. In both of their hands was an empty bubbletea cup with ice and a pink and blue straw. "Are you two here getting bubbletea?"

"And here I thought rich kids drank some high quality herb from deserted islands..." you teased, being completely non-serious.

"Hah, as stupid as they say."

"... I'm _sorry_?" you snapped, wondering if you heard them right.

"Oh, Nevermind. I guess that just proves my point." They rolled their eyes. You glared, knowing full well that their serious, fed-up faces were not joking around with you.

"...Wow. I mean, really, _wow_. Don't you think that maybe that's a bit too-" you spat, remembering that these the Host Club still didn't know you were a girl, and probably wouldn't hesitate to bury you six feet under if it came down to it. Last time you checked, you weren't so fit physically, and getting into a fight the first week of your school transfer _really _wasn't such a good idea.

"Aren't you going to finish that sentence?" Hikaru pressed, and Kaoru put a hand in front of him, holding him back. You looked up in the middle of your thoughts and gave a small shake of your head and sighed.

"What?" Hikaru moved forward, and you inwardly thanked Kaoru's arm for holding him back. "What did you just say?"

"I didn't say anything," you fired back, a bit edgy since you had to hold back your anger. A rich brat, calling a commoner like you, who had to get _tested _to get into their school, stupid? Of all the people, you didn't want to take it from some rich pretty boy who probably didn't hold a cent of his own or work a minute of his life. He probably never held as little as 100 yen in his pocket at a time. A guy like that was calling you stupid?

Unforgivable. Spoiled and unforgivable.

"Ha, just as I thought," Hikaru said, leaning back against the street lamp he was on. "You're all bark no bite. If you even think for a second that a guy like you could take anything from people like us then you better take a good look in a mirr-"

"YOU-!" you lashed out a hand as Haruhi snapped out of her senses and wrapped her arms around your stomach to hold you back.

Haruhi knew your temper and she also knew the look on your face when you were about to get violent. Haruhi was shocked though. Hikaru and Kaoru... why would they say something like that to you? They seemed to be in a bad mood. Maybe something happened...

**-X-**

_"Hatsumi-sama!"_

She stomped towards the group, her anger blistering. Haruhi and you were hugging each other in public! IN FRONT OF THEIR FRIENDS, THE HITACHIIN TWINS! This Public Display of Affection would not be tolerated, nor would it be forgiven!

"You jerk!" You instantly stopped clawing and turned your head towards the voice. _Wait... why did I turn my head to 'jerk'? *facefault*_

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HARUHI!"

With a mighty SLAP, you turned your head to the right and stayed there, trying to understand why some random girl had just slapped you.

"Haruhi-sama, don't worry!" Hatsumi cried, tears in her sparkling blue eyes. "You won't have to put up with that _cow-licking, sadistic, brain-washing–_"

"Um... First I'd like to know why you slapped my cou-"

"HATSUMI-SAMA!" Mariko struggled to keep her best friend/master grounded. Haruhi's words faded out as the scenario became more and more confusing.

"Oi, _girl_," you snapped, anger at maximum. You lightly touched a finger onto your cheek and checked for blood. You seemed to be fine, other than the temporary stinging on your left cheek. "Wanna explain to me why you decided to _bitch out_ and _slap me _all of the sudden? I was kind of in the middle of something!"

"You rude, insensitive jerk!" Hatsumi began to bawl, tears flowing down her fair cheeks.

Your anger sizzled away in seconds and you became speechless. Cue Guilt.

"... Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Haruhi did a face-palm as you ran up to Hatsumi and hugged her, apologizing. Haruhi knew for one that you were not good when it came to tears, or guilt. _(See Chapter 1 with the 'Tea-on-Mitsukuni' situation)._

"I g-get stupid! Wait, that wasn't even proper gramm- WHATEVER! I'm sorry! Does that make anything better? No? Damn, I'll get you ice cream? Do you like ice cream? No? Damn, I'll do anything! Stop crying!" You held Hatsumi tightly as people walked past them awkwardly and people mumbled how you must have been a jerk to make your girlfriend cry.

"I've loved Haruhi since forever, so how does this-this- ROTTEN APPLE win him over?" Hatsumi was bawling her eyes out, and yet clutching onto you tightly.

_Huh? Win him... WHAT?_

Haruhi gawked just as you did. "... Are you trying to say that Kyo-chan and I... are... are..._ lovers?_"

You tried as hard as you could to push down your gag reflex.

"YOU WISH! YOU AND HARUHI WILL NEVER BE LOVERS, NO MATTER HOW MANY DATES YOU GO ON... AND...and..." Hatsumi began to quietly mumble to herself and sniff loudly.

"... You thought this was a date?" Haruhi piped up, smiling nervously, seeing as it was a rather strange thought.

"Girly, we're cousins, and we're both gi-GUYS... Plus, I don't swing that way." Haruhi sighed again at your choice of words.

"Oh, but those two might," you jabbed a thumb in the direction of the two twins, "seeing as they go with all that Brother Love Crap."

"Hey-"

"But, don't worry! Haruhi's fully straight, so it's a NO WAY! But even if Haruhi were, you know, it'd be like... those two? PUH-_LEEZ_."

"WHAT-"

"Gotta run!" You winked before sprinting off.

"-DID YOU SAY?" The twins ran after you, jumping in the air and threatening you with medieval torture methods.

A wind swept through the group of girls (well... one supposed 'guy', Haruhi).

"He's a nice boy. When you get to know him," Haruhi smiled at the group of speechless girls.

"You two... are cousins?" Hatsumi mumbled meekly. Mariko sighed, wiping a tear from Hatsumi's eye.

"That explains a lot, doesn't it, Hatsumi-sama?"

"Mmnn, I guess..." she murmured, feeling just a tad bit stupid. "Then... Fujioka-san isn't...?"

Haruhi chuckled. "Nope! I'm completely single."

Haruhi had never seen a girl beam so bright before, and she silently questioned her own safety.

**-X-**

"Oi, oi! That's enough! I'm done!" You laughed, falling on the grassy hill on a park and rolling onto your back.

Hikaru and Kaoru followed up shortly, staring at you questionably.

"Sorry, Mr. Hitachiins, but that girl wasn't going to feel better with me there, and you guys seemed bored out of your mind anyways, so I thought I'd give you some exercise!"

Hikaru looked at Kaoru, who looked back.

"You're strange," Kaoru remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"And stupid," said Hikaru, rolling his eyes.

You laughed even louder, frightening the boys somewhat. "Thanks. You guys aren't so bad yourselves."

An awkward hung between the trio and people begun to stare a bit.

"I'm sorry for lashing out at you earlier," you began, feeling a weird jittery feeling in the pit of your stomach, reaching down to your toes. "You made me mad, though. You just insulted me out of no where."

Hikaru looked down on you, deep in thought. "Kyo-"

"Oh my gosh, for the love of everything nice, _stop calling me by my first name_."

"KYO," Kaoru began and you shot him a sarcastic look, which he snickered at before looking away. "We know about your feelings for Haruhi, even though you guys are cousins."

You blinked cluelessly at them, sitting upright. "You guys think that I-"

"Don't think. _Know,_" Hikaru fired. You drooped your eyelids and sighed.

"I see. And you're jealous, since you're thinking to yourself, 'Eh? How can this good for nothing boy steal a girl like Haruhi away from two hot studs like us?' right?"

"We never said-"

"Geez, put a sock in it! I obviously have no intention of hearing you out. I'm still mad at you remember?" you twittered, a smile on your face. Your words were completely contradicting the mood you were exuding, which you didn't know why, really. You just felt really jittery.

"_You _were the one who made me mad fir-"

"Get down here, you rascals," you laid back down, looking dreamily into the glittering sky. "The stars are nice today."

"We don't want to get our clothes dirty," Kaoru said with false worry, a bit more tempted to lie down than his stubborn brother.

"Psh, well I didn't know rich people couldn't wash their clothes, then."

A silence followed. Hikaru glared somewhat harshly when Kaoru's eyes searched him for permission. In the end, they stayed standing and wondered why they had bothered to stay in the first place.

"Don't go back yet. They need some time with Haruhi. Those girls are a bit on the loopy side. Even though I can't deal with them, I have a pretty good idea about what they're thinking nowadays."

"You breathe loudly."

You laughed out loud at the completely random insult. This guy must be desperate. "Shut up and enjoy the view, you scrutinizers."

The second long pause.

Slowly, the two twins smiled faintly, reclining back to lie next to you.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Ch. The sky always looks like this at night," snorted from her left.

"So it's always beautiful. Wow. Eternal nocturnal beauty, woo!"

The twins both turned to look at you in unison, catching each other's eyes on your face. It was pretty hard not to notice when two people on each side were staring in on you so you blushed.

"What? What's on my face?" You sat upright, wiping your face with your sleeve to hide the furious blush making its way onto your face.

They smirked. "Nothing. We... were just observing how you're a little..._ different _than... what we expected."

You huffed with fake pride and pointed your nose at the sky. "What? Scared my awesomeness would steal away your precious Haruhi?"

They both opened their mouth to say something, but you weren't sure if it was because they couldn't think of anything, or they were waiting for the other twin to go first. It was your turn to snicker and you shook your head. "You rich kids are so simple."

"It's not like-"

"I won't give Haruhi to you without a fight," you challenged, smirking. "Then again, I have absolutely no intention of handing her over."

"We don't know what you're talking about," they replied, sitting up and giving you the best 'WhatTheHeck' look they could muster.

"Don't lie, uh... dudes. Not cool. Haruhi doesn't like liars."

"We said-!" But you had a habit of ignoring your conversing partners' words.

"Fine then! I'll keep her all to myself~" you teased, grinning and they watched as you propped yourself back onto your feet before twisting around. "Hey! Looks like Haruhi's done talking to them. Let's go back!"

You held out both hands, offering each twin a hand to pull them up. "Come on!"

_Hmph._

They both dodged the hand, getting up themselves and walking closely side by side towards Haruhi.

You scratched your neck, exhaling deeply. "I guess my apology wasn't good enough."

You began walking, and watched as the twins approached Haruhi, said something, and then began walking away.

"Hey, how was it?" You inquired from Haruhi as she got within hearing distance.

"It was alright. Thanks for ditching me, by the way, Cuz."

"Love you, too," you riposted with a wink.

Haruhi giggled, which was very rare, before you two hooked arms and began making your way home.

"Whoa, it's already 8!" Haruhi remarked.

"Ehh, the Hitachiins left for home, right?"

"Uh, yup. They said they were gonna go. They were both kind of gloomy." Haruhi shot you a suspicious look. "What exactly did you guys do?"

"Look at stars."

_"Look at stars?"_

"... Surprise?"

Haruhi shook her head. "I mean, they actually watched with you?"

"Well, uh... yeah?" You began to wonder if perhaps the Twins weren't the type to 'lie down under a starry sky'.

_Yeah, there's probably an eighty seven percent chance of that being true... Maybe I shouldn't have made them do it._

You hummed to yourself, going through your words to them carefully in your mind. You were kidding half of the time, and you weren't even mad at them anymore. It was momentary spur of the moment thing, and now that you knew the whole reason why they were being immature and rude and selfish and-... Well, Haruhi could stand them. Why can't you? "You think they're mad at me, now?"

"Mad at you? I don't think so. Maybe they like you."

"Haha!" You laughed, a brisk wind blowing your red hair back from your face. _I know exactly who the twins 'like'._

"Well, they called me strange and stupid, but I think it's the blossoming of a bee-_yoo_-tee-full friendship!"

-X-

Kaoru was in his bed reading a magazine when his twin made his way out of the shower half naked, and drying his hair with a towel.

_"What? What's on my face?" You sat upright, wiping your face with your sleeve to hide the furious blush making its way onto your face._

But both of the twins had seen it.

_You held out both hands, offering each twin a hand to pull them up. "Come on!"_

They didn't take the hand. They hadn't wanted to touch you.

_"I won't give Haruhi to you without a fight," you challenged, smirking. "Then again, I have absolutely no intention of handing her over."_

But...

"Hey... Hikaru?" Kaoru mumbled, closing his magazine slowly..

"What?"

"... Kyo's alright."

Hikaru's hand momentarily halted in the process of drying his hair, and he stared blandly at the floor, a grim look crawling across his face. Breathing in deeply and exhaling just as heavily, he smiled faintly and re-lived the conversation had with you for a moment. You were a strange guy, awfully feminine and dorky. He wouldn't be surprised if he could lift you up over his shoulders without a problem from how small you were.

"Yeah," Hikaru breathed, and Kaoru tossed his Magazine to the side. Both twins looked at each other and had a split second agreement, just through the eyes.

"I guess we have a problem," they said in unison.

**End Chapter.**

**-X-**

**(1) Bishie is short for Bishounen (Or Bishoujo, for 'girls', but in this case Bishounen), which typically means 'boy', but in most cases, 'good-looking/hot/smokin'/sexy/I-want-you-in-between-my-legs-instead-of-whoever-is-there-right-now guy'. Get it? Greeeaat.**

Sorry if there was OOCness, but if there is it's not because I'm trying to make them this way, but because I actually don't really know how they're like in the series. I'll be sure to brush up on my anime watching and manga reading. LKSFMLAKSDMFLAKSDMF.

Until then, au revoir! _Feedback and Reviews would be awesometastic, if you like what you're reading, it'd be awesome if you could favorite and check for my updates! In fact, that'd be fabulous :3_

And once again, if you haven't answered the question yet, please do so! Which twin is your bias? Hikaru or Kaoru? Or perhaps you just can't choose, like me, and ultimately prefer both~ ;DD


	3. Of Tigers and Chimpanzees ::03::

**-X-**

**Chapter 3: Of Tigers and Chimpanzees**

**-X-**

"Harder!" you shouted, whacking Hikaru roughly on the head in annoyance.

"Wha—It's already completely in!" he defended with equal aggravation.

"There's some space, come on! Pound it in!" you hissed.

"It's deep enough, Tagara," Hikaru growled back. You raised both eyebrows high at Hikaru's back talking and crossed your arms and gritting your teeth. Is he _really _going to do this _now?_

"All I have to do is pull and it'll come sliding out!"

"I'd like to see you try!" he challenged, crossing his arms stubbornly just as you were.

_Pluck. _You raised two unconvinced eyebrows at him. Hikaru flushed under your scrutinizing eyes."You—... Idiot! Now I have to put it back in!"

"It wasn't even 'in' to begin with, Hitachiiin!" you snapped, driving it back into the hole and grabbing hold of Hikaru's hammer. "Watch and learn, kid."

With expertise, you pounded Hikaru's hammer against the surface several times. Hikaru watched in pain while cringing and wincing each time the implement drove deeper into the gap.

"See? Now that's_ in,_" you said bluntly, blowing on the hammer and pushing it towards Hikaru again, who awkwardly balanced it on his hands.

"You're _kidding. _You can't even _see_ it anymore. How are we supposed to get it out now?"

You groaned and shot him a vicious frown, pinching the tip of your nose once before shouting at Hikaru full volume.

"IT'S NOT _MEANT_ TO COME OUT, YOU DUMBY!" you scolded and Hikaru merely murmured about how mean you were to him, scorning while his back faced you.

"T-Tagara-san... Hitachiin-s-san..."

"WHAT!" you both barked in unison. You met each other's eyes and glared hard, hoping to make the opponent's head blow up through the lightning transmitted.

"... Y-you're causing a loud disruption," the guy spoke. "And... I think you both are fueling the class' imagination... just a bit too much."

Hikaru's and your death glares flickered away at the guy's words and you looked around the classroom. A few girls here and there were blushing and having trouble walking straight. There was a large shortage of guys.

"Where are the rest of the guys in the class?" you blurted.

The classmate gulped. "They asked to be excused to the washroom..."

"Really? They're probably just skipping class," Your shrugged, while Hikaru rolled his eyes. Obviously, you weren't 'man' enough yet to understand the classmate's words. Or maybe you were just staying away from the topic. Wuss.

"Sorry about that. We'll just have to try and keep it down," Hikaru apologized sincerely _behind his devil mask _and hoped the guy would leave so he could go back to proving his point to you.

A snort came from behind him. "Finally, you understand, Hitachiin."

"Want to repeat that, Ta-ga-ra?" Hikaru pulled your cheeks ruthlessly to get you to apologize for your little punny joke. It was almost amusing how far your cheeks could stretch... Those fair, smooth cheeks...

"OW-OW-OW-OW-OWWWW!"

**-X-**

"On your mark... get set... GORILLA!"

_CHK! Sliiide. Trip!_

You tumbled forward and landed inelegantly on your behind, groaning loudly. Other partner teams looked over and laughed at the sight of you on your butt. You cast Kaoru an angry glare. "HITACHIIN!"

"Heh. My bad. Hurry, get back up, Tagara-kun! You're holding us up!" Kaoru rebutted.

"Why," you grumbled, "am I partnered with one of them in this class, too?"

"Alright. 3... 2... 1... CHEESEBURGER!" _Stumble._

"I'M GOING TO RIP OUT YOUR TONGUE, JERK!"

"Hitachiin, Tagara, a problem?" the teacher yelled over from timing his group.

"We're fine, sensei," Kaoru beamed, shooting the Female teacher a dazzling side glance. Her knees buckled and she latched onto a male student next to her, who proceeded to fan her. You pouted and continued to brush the dirt off your arms and legs.

"Back to the sprints~" Kaoru looked back at you, who got into starting stance 100 Meters away from him. "Ready, set... GOPHER!"

_Scrrcht! _Your heel pushed off the track and you sprinted past a fellow classmate, accelerating at immense speed.

"What's my time!" you called out after you whizzed past him and jogged over.

"You started before I said 'Go', so I didn't time it properly!" Kaoru said. "Go back and try again!"

You closed your eyes momentarily and re-opened them. You ran your fingers through your hair and brushed your bangs back, revealing your wide forehead. Kaoru gulped. Sweat glistened off your skin and your ember eyes glinted with irritation. You pinched the tip of your nose and shook the sweat out of your hair and face. "This time, okay?"

Kaoru looked away brusquely. "We'll see."

You did a light jog back to the starting line and touched your palms to the ground, still jogging on the spot before getting back down on the ground, a leg extended back and hands planted on the track.

He didn't bother to warn you, cheeks tinted lavender pink. "GO!"

Your legs burned, your paces widened and you clawed the ground with the soles of your feet, latching on and releasing in less than half a second. Kaoru squinted his eyes and pressed the stop button. Kyomi jogged back, sweat drenching her hair and making red strands swirl around her cheeks.

"My time?"

"16 seconds. Pretty slow for a guy your age," Kaoru muttered, patting you on the back. "Ugh! You're sweating like a pig!"

"No one told you to touch me! Obviously I'm sweating, I probably ran 500 _useless_ meters before you actually timed me properly," you said, flipping your hair to the side. Kaoru faked a cough as you opened your water bottle and poured water over your sweaty self. "Agh, I'm so tired already. Get running, fool."

You pressed the timer down and watched as Hikaru finished his 100 meters. You stared in awe at the time displayed as he jogged back.

"Barely 11 seconds! Impossible! What are you on, steroids?" You watched Kaoru not break a sweat as he circled you with a smirk.

"What? Don't I look the part?"

"You're skinny as hell. I've seen you take off your shirt for fan service, and you're not anything special. Except for, you know, being scrawny," you mocked, smirking as water dripped off your hair and onto your shirt. He nudged your head and scoffed.

"What'd you say! You're skinnier than me! No muscle at all!" he jested, beginning to tickle you and watched you squirm under his reach. You held back your laugh and refused to give in to his torture even as your face grew as red as a cherry.

"Stop!" your shouted in desperation, beginning to laugh hysterically. "Invasion of space, invasion of space! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Never!" he shouted in protest to the plea, tickling you harder. Suddenly, through your seizure squirms, your foot hooked around Kaoru and tripped him, causing him to fall backwards and dragging you down with him.

"WAH!" Your head landed on Kaoru's stomach as you pulled away to hover over his body, water dripping off your hair like a tap.

"Everyone come in! P.E's over!"

You found yourself becoming lost in his golden eyes, reflecting your tomato red face back faithfully. The way his jaw line connected to his lean neck, and his the way his hair fell over his face perfectly, twisting over his ear and around the bridge of his nose. His breath tickled your face. A drop of water fell on his cheek and he flinched. You blinked away your awe and pushed off him, extending a hand to him.

"Daijoubu? (You alright?)" you asked cautiously, raising a nervous brow at him.

Kaoru frowned, getting up on his own. He bumped shoulders with you rudely and walked off, muttering incoherencies under his breath. This was the second time a twin had reject your hand and you began to wonder if maybe you should have apologized for last night. You sighed, putting your hands on your hips and walked into the teacher, too. Had you stared at him too long? Maybe it came off rude...

Kaoru looked back at you expectantly and yelled out. "Hurry up!"

You glanced up at him in alarm and sported a breathtaking smile. "Got it!"

His heart leapt a beat, ignoring the twisting stomach he had. His lips parted. So you were a bit feminine.

_That's going to take some time getting used to, _he frowned, disregarding the fact that your smile was starting to make him a bit uneasy...

**-X-**

A fresh rain had just fallen outside as you sat indoors, attending to guests inside. Unable to contain your boredom and yearning to be out in the fresh air, you let out a bittersweet sigh.

"He doesn't even need to _say _anything," Kyouya remarked to himself, and as the girls used the image of you sighing to fuel their imaginations. "Impressive."

"Who are you talking about, Kyouya?" Tamaki came up beside him, a hand rested lazily on his hip. Like always, the rest of the Host Club was done much earlier than you when it came to dealing with customers. They gave the girls what they wanted and always knew how to get them to leave even without saying it. You, on the other hand, hadn't gotten to that level yet. You had no idea when the heck to stop talking.

"How are the private lessons going?" Haruhi joined the two men and also began to observe your progress with the girls at your table. You smiled apologetically when a girl asked if they were boring you.

"Absolutely not. I'm just thinking about what a shame it is not to be outside right now. Don't you think it's lovely?" There was an odd compassion in your eyes as you spoke, that none of the girls or the men seemed to comprehend.

"But... Tagara-kun, it's cloudy outside," one girl spoke.

"And it just finished raining."

"Ahh," you chuckled, borderline giggling. "Don't you think that the sun peaking out right after the rain is the best? It's the period of time after the darkness, right? Beautiful."

You glanced up and flushed pale white. "Ah! I'm afraid I've kept you here too long yet again! If you would forgive me, please, I won't want to waste anymore of your time."

"Not at all!" Risa giggled. She smiled sweetly at you and tilted her head down as a semi-bow. "I've had a splendid time with you again, Kyo-kun. You're quite the gentlemen."

You glowed at the praise. As the other girls stood up and headed out, twittering about some unknown topic, you kept your head low as you crept towards the rest of the Host Club members who were done with their customers.

"You don't have a very conscious mind on the time, do you?" Kyouya reprimanded, taking a seat.

"Sorry," you admitted somberly, scratching your head cautiously.

"Work on it," he demanded coldly.

You nodded diligently and sighed. Haruhi put an arm around your shoulder and offered a handsome smile. You smiled faintly, feeling embarrassing.

"It's fine with me, Tiger-chan!" Mitsukuni said, prancing up to you. You blushed again from the adorable overdose, and Takashi couldn't help but lift the corners of his mouth in observation.

"T-Tiger-chan?" you repeated in confusion. Mitsukuni nodded vigorously.

"There are two Kyo-chans in the Host Club now, so I gave you the nickname Tiger, because your last name is Ta-ga-ra! Therefore: Tai-ga!"

You looked as bright red as your hair: _he's waaay too cute!_

"I think it matches you, Kyo," Hikaru saunter over and crossed his arms. "You seem like the type to go out _hunting_ for prey and have a _temper_."

"Well in that case, we should call you Chimpanzee or something. _Funny looking_, _goofy_ and 100% _wild," _you retorted. He frowned, glaring at you with golden eyes. You mustered the best glare you could, too, but you knew that you weren't always the most successful with that. Haruhi held back a smirk: it was such a Kyomi thing to say something witty to those you didn't like.

But something told Haruhi that Kyo and the Twins would be friends soon.

"Heh, thank gosh tigers are endangered. The faster they're gone, the better." You dropped your jaw and lunged at the boy, pinning him to the floor and a clawing fight broke out.

Haruhi sighed. Maybe not so soon, then...

**-X-**

"Jerks, they are," you muttered under your breath, a few scratches and bruises here and there on your body. You were walking home under the street lights, in the dark next to bustling traffic. Your hands were dug deep into the pocket of your long black coat. So they were a little good looking, rich and could pull off a good incest boy on boy love act – that shouldn't be why they got so many customers! No girl in their right mind could possibly like such narrow minded, selfish twins, could they!

"Need a ride?" came from behind you. You nearly turned around to smile and give a polite no thank you; before your brain clicked the two identical voices triggered something.

Such as a gun. Which you semi-wished you had right then.

"No. I'm fine," you snapped back, sending the twins at angry glare. They shrugged haughtily in their sleek black limo and the window rolled up. Driving away with a rev, you jumped up and down, fuming from your ears.

"SPOILED JERKS!" _You obviously drove by just to brag in my face that you have a limo and I don't! Oh, but I do! I do want a ride! And a limo! _You ranted in your mind, blowing your top. Those two pissed you off, and you weren't even half sure _why_. In all honesty, you were jealous, but not to the point it would lead to unnecessary hatred. But after they purposely tortured you in school for no reason, it was just uncalled for. Did you piss them off _that _much the other night? You didn't deserve to deal with that much immaturity, did you? You took a few deep breaths in and calmed down.

_They're not worth your time, Kyomi Tagara. Just go home, _you thought, walking again.

**-X-**

"And then he said 'I peed into the holy water'!(1)" Haruhi burst out into tears and laughed. You laughed just as hard, ironic since you knew the joke by heart

"That's so ... _sinister, _Kyo! Where did you hear that from!" Haruhi asked and you shrugged.

"A friend told me. I can't remember who, but it just suddenly came to me," you grinned widely and Haruhi rolled her eyes at your silliness.

"We should get to class," you said, "the bell will ring in a few minutes."

"Mm, true!" You and Haruhi were occupying the school's roof deck where barely anyone seemed to hang out, which was weird. You, for one, loved heights and being up so high gave you a thrill. Haruhi, being your devoted friend, followed you, and that became the spot you both got together before school and during lunch.

"Oh, by the way, Kyo-chan, did you hear about the play we're going to do?"

You squinted your eyes. "Play? Like.. school play? Oh gosh, when?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, but it's Yako-sensei and Neuro-sensei's(2) Japanese classes. You're in Yako-sensei's class with Hikaru and Kaoru, aren't you?"

"My mood just died when you said those two names." Haruhi rolled her eyes.

"Yako and Neuro? My-my, what do you have against them, my Kyomi?" she jested and it was your turned to scoff and roll your eyes.

"Obviously, the twins are just _angels, _blessed to me from above to bring me joy and happiness. Nothing will _ever _go wrong with I'm with them! Maybe I should consider naming my first children after them!" Haruhi winced at your heavy sarcasm and patted your back.

"Let's go. We'll be late," Haruhi shook her head and helped you off the ground, but you didn't stop there.

"Yeah, and while I'm at it, why don't I frikin write them a song, so that when they decide to ride me like the dog I am, I can sing it to them to beg for forgiveness!"

"...Kyo-"

"AND MAYBE, I SHOULD PUT A BIG FAT STICKER ON MY FOREHEAD THAT SAYS 'HELLO THERE, I ENJOY KISSING THE ASSES OF KAORU AND HIKARU HITACHIIN'—"

_Whack. _"Kyomi... Drop it."

"Hai, Haru-chan~"

**-X-**

(1) LOL, if you know the story, there are many versions. Go look it up, if you want. Just go google that line I used. 'I peed into the Holy Water'. It might be a bit sick, or dark if you're very heavily Christian, etc, so you decide whether you read it."

(2) Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro! Yako x Neuro FTW, so I applaud nyone who got the referense. You are miiiighty awesome (:

Sorry it took so long! I have finals this week, so it's like: CRAM, NEGLECT, NEGLECT, NEGLECT, CRAM, NEGLECT FOR 6 HOURS, CRAM, EAT, SLEEP, NEGLECT, AND CRAM.

Not so efficient. I'll have to work on that.

**Review and Alert? That'd be amazing 8D**


	4. It's Not Stalking If It's On TV! ::04::

**Chapter 4: It's Not Stalking If It's On TV!  
_(Re-vamped - 11/22/2011)_ **

**-X-**

"You know," the twins scrutinized, "this is why everyone thinks you're dating."

You held back a growl, hands boldly crossed in front of your chest. The days were still rather long for early October, but you certainly weren't complaining about good weather on a Friday afterschool. As always, you were in the Third Music Room, just finished with attending to several girls for Haruhi's debt. As much as you didn't appreciate being grouped up with these stupid rich kids, you had to admit that there really was nothing better to do since your escapades to find a job had yet to succeed, so you were still under their lawful abuse. You were still new and painfully inexperienced, even with the frequent tips Tamaki gave you! The customers you had in a day could easily be counted on one hand - _two_, if you were lucky. The first day you were a host, curiosity and a 'change of scenery' was what kept the girls coming, but things had soon stabilized to what was to be expected: the hierarchy of the most customers beginning with Tamaki and ending with you.

Back to the matter at hand: the twins were obviously not on a first-name basis with you - and hopefully, if things went your way, never _would_ be - but the way they kept insulting and annoying you was genuinely laughable at this point. One could be less spiteful if you had killed their pet dog. You snapped, "Whether we are or not is _strictly_ none of your business."

"We'll be going now. See you Senpais (1) tomorrow!" Haruhi exclaimed apologetically. With one last rueful glare at the twins, you took her hand and lead her out the doorway, leaving the six boys lonesome confused. Sometimes you just needed to get away from them.

"My... Haruhi..." Tamaki whimpered, imaginary tears streaming down his face in waterfalls. "She leaves without reassuring her worrying father of her safety? What rebellion! What _dishonor!"_

Kyouya smirked faintly. "It should seem that Tagara likes to hog Haruhi to himself."

"Why don't they ever bring us along? I feel like we've gotten farther now after Tiger-chan keeps going off with Haru-chan somewhere!" Mitsukuni whined, looking up at Takashi expectantly.

"Mh."

"Maybe it's time-" Hikaru shot.

Kaoru fired, "-to tag along."

The six teenagers - or, really, just a particular _three_ - exchanged a mischievous look.

**-X-**

"Now I was thinkin' you and me - we go karaoke!" you lamely rhymed, making Haruhi rolled her eyes.

"You still love to sing, don't you, Kyo-chan? But don't you think it's mean for ditching them like that? We could have at least invited them to come with us..."

_Six pairs of ears shamelessly listened in on the two girls' conversations, hidden by the shadows of the street._

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't bring that up..." You sighed, defeated. "They're just so awkward to be around, and maybe I should feel selfish for dragging you away all the time... but I barely know any of them. Not like we've had any formal introductions, and I don't have any classes with any of them except the twins... both of which, might I add, need to learn the meaning of 'shut up'."

"You should get to know them, Kyo-chan." Haruhi nodded, and for some strange reason, she had nothing much to say. You found it odd.

To be completely honest, you weren't completely sure why being around them bothered you so much. You had a few reasons down; they _were_ all guys, and you kind of _were_ using the fact that you were a boy to help Haruhi out. Sure, even if they found out you were a girl, you doubt they'd sue you or kick you out of the school. Besides, you only planned to help her out with this temporarily. Your time would be essentially limited when you found a job, so you were offering whatever help you could until then. Heaven knows how long it'd take Haruhi to pay off eight million yen by herself, even if you _did _stick with it full time.

"We haven't hung out in a long time," you announced shyly. "It's like I want to make up for all the time we lost together when I left. It's selfish, I know, but there's still so much catching up to do with you!"

Haruhi's expression softened. She leaned over to hook arms with you and flashed you a reassuring lift of her lips. No need for words. You grinned childishly, pulling her waist into a tight hug.

"You're such a darn cutie, Haru-chan! I could eat you up! Wanna let me have a bite?" Haruhi frowned and sighed, feigning offense to and making a show of walking away. She never was the type to give in to your crude humor, and obviously being around the boys so much hadn't corrupted her nearly as much as you had thought. You chased after her in exaggerated guilt, calling after her for her to wait up for you.

The karaoke bar was surprisingly close. Teenagers clad in school uniforms stopped to eyeball the two of you briefly once in a while, unable to ignore the rich uniform of Ouran Academy. You snuck a secretive glance at Haruhi, who shrugged in response. Little did they know~

"Just two people. A small room is fine," Haruhi informed the guy at the Karaoke place's counter. He looked up, dull brown eyes framed with thick-framed glasses. Clearing his throat and brining a hand up to fix his tousled brown hair, he then handed her the blank application sheet. You tried to ignore how he smelled heavily of smoke, but ended up turning away to scrunch your face in distaste.

"Uhh... Room 32 is open. All the way down the hall n' turn right, y'know?" he announced. Haruhi started neatly printing the information down, and you chewed on the inside of your lip as you strolled over to the window, eager to get away from the smell of second-hand smoke. The Karaoke place was inside a tall building, so the view below of the streets was enough to make your rather country-bumpkin stomach queasy. The district seemed to be popular, as the dots below seemed to be predominantly shopping and teens going out together in groups. The neighboring buildings and malls had large billboard advertisements and on several had television screens adorning the front, displaying the news and more commercials. You smiled warily to yourself: what a big city Tokyo was.

"Kyomi," rang the voice of Haruhi, beside you. She peeked out the window briefly, and then set her sights on you again. "You look like you're in love with this city, silly."

You slung an arm around her shoulder in a chummy gesture. "I'm not sure if it's this city I'm in love with, or you, my dear!"

**-X-**

"Two... boys just came in here. Which room are they in?" The man behind the counter glanced briefly up at the blonde disruption, made a noncommittal sound, and went back to typing away at his computer.

"Not in m'right to give that info out, dude."

Kyouya pushed Tamaki aside. "Kyouya Ootori. We'd like a room for six, please."

"Wh-... Ootori? You mean, you're the son of-..." he trailed off, typing something quickly into his computer, the results making his eyes widen. He fumbled for the clipboard and passed it to Kyouya graciously. "Just fill it out, dude!"

Hikaru quirked a brow. "We're booking a room?"

Kaoru blinked. "As in... to karaoke?"

"EEEH?" Mitsukuni tilted his head to the right, eye bright. "Does Kyo-chan really want to sing? I thought we were following Haru-chan and Tiger-chan! Ne, Mori-chan?"

"Ah."

"KYOUYAA!" Tamaki raged, limbs kicking out in a hissy fit as he tried to peek over Kyouya. "What do you think you're doing? This is not the time to be fulfilling your karaoke king fantasies—!"

"All of you idiots, just shut up," he grumbled, filling out the rest of the spaces with his neat cursive. The rest of the Host Club members exchanged confused glances, wondering what the devilish brain was up to.

"Here," Kyouya handed it back to the man, who took it graciously. Without checking it over, he nodded and pointed to the left hall.

"Room 12 to your left, y'know?"

**-X-**

_Click. _"Found them."

"Whaa~ Kyou-chan is ama~zing!" Mitsukuni sang, bouncing up and down on the black sofas. They were situated in the VIP room out of pure coincidence NOT, with a flat screen karaoke screen and a tremendous view of the busy Tokyo street outside.

The twins both peeked over his shoulder at the screen. "You hacked into the place's cameras? Awesome!"

"I have my laptop hooked onto the entire building, so the signal might be bad. There are a lot of screens and commercials outside so we have to be careful as to not reach out into those cables," Kyouya announced. "In other words, we should be fine as long as one of you idiots doesn't touch the laptop."

"Hurry, turn up the volume!" Kyouya got up out of his seat and plugged the cable into the TV screen, watching the static screen flicker and wipe out into a solid blue screen. There were a few more seconds blankness until the TV glitched, and Kyouya positioned himself at his laptop again.

There were a few more seconds of static, and then faintly, so faintly, voices were fading in. The screen displayed you leaning over the menu selection box, tapping your lip impatiently with your finger. Haruhi looked through the selection of songs in the physical book copy, flipping through the pages nonchalantly.

"Menu... uhh... okay—WHOA. They have English songs? Japan Karaoke is the boss!" You rejoiced, leaping up from the control box and looking over to Haruhi. "Remember this song?~"

A brown eyebrow rose at your comment, only for the first words that came out of your mouth to make her break out laugh.

_"LUDA!" _Haruhi's eyes wide as the song settled in. You animatedly got up and started to dance to the lyrics, your gestures matching your words.

_"Now I may not be the worst of the best,  
But you gotta respest my ho-ne-sty~!  
And I may break your heart, but  
I don't really think that's there's anybody as bomb as me!  
So you can take this chance, in the end, everybody's gonna be wondering how you deal.  
You might say: this is LU-DA-CRIS, but Taoi Cruz, tell her how you feel!"_

"Really, Kyo-chan?" she started. "Of course I remember this! You used to sing this to me in elementary school as a joke! And you kept saying that-"

_"They call me heart breaker!"_ you teased, giving her a wink and a flash of your teeth underneath your smile. She couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile. She picked up a mic. _"I don't wanna deceive ya!"_

_"If you fall for me~  
I'm not easy to please  
I might tear you apart  
Told you from the start, Baby, from the start!"_ Haruhi eyes continued darting to the screen because her English wasn't as good as yours. The real singing had officially begun! Well, if you could call it singing. The two of you were hopping up and down and shouting the lyrics out loud with little-to-none of the original melody. You weren't really in the mood to sing your heart out yet, and Haruhi, well... carrying a tune was always a challenge for her.

_"I'm only gonna break break your, break break your heart!"_ The boys in the exchanged more confused looks as you both repeated the lyrics with a fluency that could only mean you had done it many, many times. This is what they sung when they went Karaoke-ing? It might have seemed like something _you_ would sing, but... Haruhi?

_"I'm only gonna break break your, break break your heart! Whoa~"_ Both of you were on your feet, swaying your hips and moving your feet to the beat. You were far from a dancer, but when something with a beat comes on and there's no one looking, you just let go!

"Okay, okay, okay, let's switch, I'm tired already!" You intercepted and Haruhi flopped down on the couch. "Dude, this is insane. They have such a variety of foreign songs!"

Haruhi chuckled. "All English, Kyo?"

"Ooh! What about some Korean? The singers in that country are pretty good... Especially the boy groups, if y'know what I'm sayin'~" You winked, scrolling through the korean section. Haruhi laughed at your antics.

"Then you sing the next one!" she grinned. "My English isn't good enough. I made so many mistakes in that last one! American songs are just not for me."

"Oh, so you're going to make me sing by myself, now?" You pouted and Haruhi smiled in reply.

"You can sing your heart out, for my share, too, then!"

You blinked and then smirked mischievously. "In that case..."

Haruhi watched as you hit the 'OK' button on the remote for the song. "Oh come on! Really, Kyo?"

"It's a bit low, even for me, since I'm a tenor," you announced shyly, "But I looove me some Super Junior!"

**-X-**

"I got some drinks!" Mitsukuni skipped in, handing them to everyone.

"Kyo's about to sing! Can you zoom in on this, Kyouya! WE NEED TO SEE THIS!" Tamaki exclaimed and Kyouya rolled his eyes, complying.

"Look up the Japanese lyrics to the song she's singing!"

Kyouya went typing away in another window. If he remembered correctly, the title of the song was ...

He clicked the link, and it brought them to a Korean version of the song, with a Japanese translation in brackets.

"Yes! Now we can-"

_**(Song: 'It Has to Be You' By Yesung from Super Junior.)**_

_"Oneuldo nae gieogeul ttarahemaeda (Today, I wander in my memory)  
I gil kkeuteseo seoseongineun na (I'm passing around on the end of this way)  
__Dasin bol sudo eomneun niga nareul butjaba (You're still holging me tightly, even though I can't see you)  
__Naneun tto i gireul mutneunda (I'm losing my way again)_

The song you chose stayed in a very safe range for you, having no 'impressive' high notes of any sort, and not stretching your ranges, which is why you loved singing this song: because it made your voice sound good. A few notes in the beginning seconds strained your voice just a tad, but you knew that this song was a comfortable one for someone like you, who had no vocal training whatsoever.

_"Neol bogo sipdago tto (To see you more)  
Ango sipdago jeo (To hold you more)  
Haneulbomyeo gidohaneun nal __(I'm praying it to the sky)."_

Water spilled on top of the counter, leaking its way over to Kyouya's laptop. An angry exclamation echoed in the room, but no one dared move. Kyouya got up out of his seat and moved to gather some napkins, soaking up the area immediately. His uniform pants were wet, now – no matter; he had several spare ones at home. He glanced over at the rest of the boys staring at the Television screen. They didn't even care about the laptop.

"He..." Hikaru breathed.

Everyone was staring at the Television screen, soaking in the first experience hearing you sing. All except for Kyouya, who was desperately trying to get the liquid away from his precious laptop. He pressed a few buttons quickly to make sure it was still working. To his relief, there was no ear-splitting beep sound or screen glitching.

He picked up the sopping wet tissues and scooted away from the hypnotized Host Club members. Kyouya rolled his eyes; they were painfully elementary. Your voice wasn't so impressive as for them to zone the rest of the world out – he'd seen more than his share of concerts and recitals to know that you weren't _bad, _but you were far from _captivating._

That being said, he _was _surprised with the mask of your voice. It was serenely easy on the ears, and a male sang the song you picked and rather low, yet you pulled off the notes effortlessly and without strain. You were obviously _not _a soprano singer. Your voice wasn't distractingly high-pitched or nasal like many amateur teenage girls nowadays. It was smooth and adequately controlled: not a voice that would give away your gender right away. It was a voice he could fall asleep to.

Before he could slap himself for his elementary thoughts, he dropped the damp tissues into the trashbin and stood back up to turn around. The glass doors leading onto the small terrace outside were strangely positioned right next to the trash bin. There was a crack in the curtains, bright light pouring in through the exposed space. He squinted his eyes and stepped forward, removing the curtain from his view and sliding the glass door open. He could faintly make out something outside, past the deck... Something that looked awfully...

Familiar.

_"Niga animyeon andwae (It can't beif it's not you)_  
_Neo eobsin nan andwae (I can't be without you)_  
_Na ireoke haru handareul tto illyeoneul (Even if I'm hurt for a day and a year like this)_  
_Na apado joha (I'll be okay)_  
_Nae mam dachyeodo joha nan... (It's fine if my hearts hurts)_  
_Geurae nan neo hanaman saranghanikka... (Yes, because I'm just in love with you)"_

"Tagara's really good!" Tamaki exclaimed with joy, giddy like a schoolgirl. Of course, he had been paying attention to your voice rather than the lyrics and meaning of the song, otherwise his reaction would probably be more similar to...

"Not like we haven't heard better," Hikaru said, looking to the side, as if embarrassed he had bothered listening to you at all.

Kaoru observed silently, eyes dividing their attention between the screen and his brother. He knew his brother. It had happened not long ago, where he had gone off on tangents of moodiness, refusing to admit certain feelings.

You were singing a love song for Haruhi, and as if that weren't enough to smolder jealousy in his heart, it _burned_ knowing that your singing was in fact _good._

The corners of Kyouya's lips lifted into a smirk. His fingers brushed against the thin drapes as he made his way back to the room, as if nothing had happened. He exhaled from his nose. You looked thinner on the screen outside than the wide-screen television in the room.

Your hands clutched the microphone passionately, and your voice came out in vines of melody, growing strong with emotion as the song reached the end.

If singing had this effect on you, what on earth did those who pursued this kind of career feel, who loved music to the depths of their being? It wasn't so much a love for singing that you had, but the love for the rushand feeling it gave you. When your voice listened to you, sounded the way you wanted, came out the way it did, your entire body was lifted. Emotion seeped from your words, from your diction, sound, and flooded the ears of your listeners. The girl inside of you fueled such timid, pent up sentiments. Love wasn't something you prioritized or even thought about on a weekly basis, but _golly, _wasn't it such a wonderful, powerful thing when put properly into song?

_"Na dasi sarado (If I live my life again)_  
_Myeot beoneul taeeonado (If I'm born over and over again)_  
_Harudo niga eobsi sal su eomneun na (I wouldn't live one day without you)_  
_Naega jikyeojul saram (You're the one I will keep)_  
_Naega saranghal saram nan (You're the one I will love)_  
_Geurae nan neo hanamyeon chungbunhanikka (Yes, because simply being with you brings me happiness)_  
_Neo hanaman saranghanikka(I'm just in love with you)..."_ You ended with a flourishing bow, cheeks stained a bright red color, and body tingling. Haruhi clapped for you good-naturedly and you feigned exhaust by collapsing your posture.

"_Someone's _keen on making it to the music charts, aren't they? You have _so_ been practicing!" she quipped, jabbing an accusing finger at you jokingly.

"Singing in the shower became something I couldn't shake off after Pa died," You straighted your posture and drummed the microphone against your shoulder like a massager. "And you can say I've been surfing the internet to help me with my tone and range since high notes that I can't reach piss me the heck off, as you know... "

Her lovely doe-brown eyes softened, and she leaned back in her seat, fingers laced together. "Didn't you want to be a singer when you were young, Kyo?"

You blinked, blushing considerably. "Oh geez, when was that? When I as eight or something? As if I would ever make it: have you _seen _the singers nowadays? I mean, even the ones who _aren't _famous are absolutely _amazing! _I could never compete with that. For now, it's just Haruhi Fujioka and Kyo Tagara in a karaoke bar!"

When you opened your eyes from sheepishly laughing, Haruhi's eyes were furrowed and narrowed in concentration. You glanced around the room, and even tried to follow her gaze, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

"...Haruhi?" You asked after your friend failed to respond for a long while. "What's wrong?"

"Maybe my ears are ringing from the volume, but I hear applause." You glanced to the window, suddenly aware of the shrill 'haaa' sound coming from outside. "You think something's happening?"

"I don't remember any famous celebrities stopping by Tokyo today. Let's check it out..."

You rushed to the window curtains and tore them open, looking down at the city crowd, who were indeed clapping madly. You searched for the source, until you saw something that piqued your interest more.

"... Haruhi?"

"Hm? What's happening?" Haruhi stood up too, sauntering over to the window.

"There's a building... with a really big screen on it..."

"... Yes, I know. There are several. Why do you look so..." Haruhi inquired, wondering why you were acting so freaked out. She opened the curtain and peered to the streets below.

"...But why's my face on it?"

**-X-**

"How's it following his face?"

"The computer's on Auto FaceTrack," Kyouya responded to Tamaki's question as the Host Club members stared outside the window in unison.

"So... they all heard him?"

"Yeah, apparently. Doesn't matter, though." They watched in shock as the big screen went back to selling advertisements, and the massive crowd outside began dispersing again. Camera phones whipped away and people were still chattering about what they thought it was: an audition? Debut? Eye candy? Ear Candy? The boys glanced back to their own screen, which was still focused on the two from room 32.

"Oh, I switched to an advertisement!" You blurted stupidly from your window when the screen flickered back to commercial business. Kyouya rolled his eyes.

"I think they were clapping for you, Kyo... They must have heard you sing!" Haruhi concluded, and it took you a few seconds for the words to register.

"That's not possible." Haruhi gave you a disbelieving look. You walked to the couch, zombie-like, rocking back and forth without any emotion. "It's not possible... right?"

"IT CAN'T BE!" Haruhi winced, watching you writhe on the black sofa. "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! I-I... There must have been so many people criticizing how off-key I was and—and... AGH! You _know _I have a tendency to sing flat! How the frick was I supposed to know that—_THIS IS NOT HAPPENING._"

Haruhi patted your calmly on the back, soothing your flaring temper. "Calm down, Kyo! You sounded fine! What's more important is why we were... being broadcasted out there. There's a security camera in each karaoke room for safety reasons, but..."

At the mentioning of the camera, you both glanced up to it, cueing stiffening responses from the host club in the other room as it looked as if you were staring directly at them.

You squinted your eyes in disbelief. "The Karaoke place wouldn't dare: they know we can sue them. Which means... but what morons would hack into the main server and watch us–"

"..." You and Haruhi stared at each other for a moment, horror and realization dawning on your faces.

"I think that's our cue..." Kaoru began.

"... to run," Hikaru finished.

The minute they finished, Kyouya's laptop was already snapped shut and they were out the door.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" you both shrieked, dashing out of your room to catch the thumping footsteps on the other side.

**-X-**

"D-don't be mad, my Kyo!"

"_WHO'S_ YOUR KYO?" You chucked another pillow at Tamaki, which happened to be metaphorically filled with bricks. They were all sitting in the Karaoke room you and Haruhi had booked. Your arms were folded crossly over your chest, and you were so mad you could have exploded if not for the fact that Haruhi held you back and tried her best to soothe you. You buried your face in the pillow and groaned loudly.

Kyouya fixed his glasses' position. "With your voice, we could indeed earn a profit-"

"Shut up, Kyouya! You're the techno dude who 'made it all happen'. Agh, I'm so mad at you guys! _Don't talk to me!"_ you seethed, hurling another ten-pound pillow at Tamaki. He failed to dodge, and it pinned him against the opposing wall. You huffed, not satisfied with his pain.

Haruhi sighed. "I don't know what you guys were thinking. I'm really disappointed. How could you-... and then broadcast it live?"

Tamaki shuddered. "M-My Princess..."

"SHE'S NOT YOUR PRINCESS!" you shrieked, hurling another pillow at Tamaki. He smashed against the wall and whimpered, but you showed no mercy. You were seething, and thoroughly humiliated.

"Tiger-chan's voice was beautiful, though!" Mitsukuni smiled, rays of sunshine illuminating from his adorable face. You glanced up expectantly, anger seeping out of you like water out of a sponge at the sight of his charm. "Right, Taka-chan?"

Takashi nodded. "Ah."

You pressed the pillow against your dry lips, peeking out at them skeptically. "Th-thanks... Haninozuka-kun... Morinozuka-kun."

Mitsukuni pouted. "Call me Honey, Kyo-chan! You can call Taka-chan: Mori, too, right?"

"Ah."

You nodded cautiously, trying to still act mad. Being mad while someone like Mitsukuni was staring at you with those eyes... was hard to do. "Honey-kun, Mori-kun."

Tamaki scooted over. "So are we forgiven?"

"Absolutely not! I said stop talking to me!" you growled, throwing your last pillow at the blonde and nailing him in the side. Haruhi glanced sympathetically at him as he sulked in his corner upon being stricken.

"Oh, what can you do to make us forgive you, Tagara-chan?" Tamaki sobbed, clutching his forehead in agony. The look of grief on his features made you raise an unimpressed brow. Obviously he couldn't tell that you were not in the mood for forgiving! You were in the mood for _being frustrated and angry with them!_

"Why don't I make it up to you by bringing you somewhere?" Kyouya intercepted. "I just received an e-mail that I'm supposed to test out the city's new amusement park. It's been restricted for arrival upon invitation, so you'll have all the VIP Benefits."

"... Amusement Park?" Haruhi repeated.

"...VIP Benefits?" you repeated.

"That's what I said."

"..."

You shrugged, keeping your gaze away from any eyes trying to read the excitement on your face. "Well... I've never really been to an amusement park before..."

"'Cause you're poor," came the first.

You ignored the remark. "And VIP Benefits _do_ sound pretty enticing..."

"'Cause you're poor," came the second.

You glared at the two of them. "But it's _not_ because I'm poor!"

The twins seemed to consider this. "... Nah. We're pretty sure it's because you're poor."

"You guys better say something profound right now," you stood up on the couch, before launching off of it to lunge at the two little devils, "because those will be _your last words!"_

**-X-**

_Phone calls were coming in like a tsunami, flooding the entire room as the staff tried to hold onto multiple phones with one hand. The room, filled with cubicles, was swarming with chatter and apologies, along with refusals and demands. Phone lines were being held up, and the frantic scrambling for documents, and coffee being spilled all over the place weren't helping in the case of crowded pandemonium._

_"Have we figured out who it was? They're holding up our business, those phone calls." His voice was gruff and husky, belonging to a man in his mid-fifties. Rubbing his temples, the look of dissatisfaction stayed on his face. His office was neat and tidy in contrast to the chaos outside his glass room._

_"N-no, sir. We're afraid that a w-wiring difficulty might have happened, so... Th-there's no way to track where the... h-hacker came from."_

_He made a steeple with his fingers and grunted. "Go to the footage we have of him. I'm sure we can figure out something to track him down and make him pay us back for the production damage he's causing us. Talent agencies and entertainment organizations are taking up all our phone lines. Who knows how long this will go on? Our time is being wasted."_

_There was a firm knock on the door. It was a woman, slick brown hair tied back and her glasses resting comfortably on her nose bridge. "Boss, we've got two names. Haruhi Fujioka and Kyo Tagara, according to the tape. The other name is probably his friend's, leaving one to be his._

_"Excellent. Keitaro Hishikata-san, take it from there."_

_"Ah–! P-p-pardon, sir?"_

_"Quit stuttering, fool, and get out of my office. You've got someone to find."_

**-X- End Notes -X-**_  
_

(1) Yeah, I know. I really hate randomly inserted Japanese references too, but there's really no way to say "Senpai" in English without it sounding awkward. IE: "See you later, upperclassman!" So for the flow of text and staying true to the Japanese origins, I _do_ use Japanese honorifics and text once in a while, only when necessary.

_Oh Hot Dayum_ , Let's bring out some **YESUNG KIM!**

LOL, sorry for the song choice if you disliked it. Is it a sin to put Korean music in a Japanese fanfic? Aish! I really dislike chapters with singing and songs in general! But forgive me if you looked it up on Youtube and thought the song was crap D: It needed to be a "Lady Killer" kind of song for stuff I have planned in the future of this story... You'll see.

I'm sorry that there wasn't much development in plot in this chapter, but I'll be getting there in the next few chapters, I swear! I'll try to get rid of filler chapters like this, but this karaoke session has a big part in the future of this story! So stay tuuuuuuned~~!

**Step One: Read Story  
Step Two: Forgive Mistakes & Dislikes of the Chapter  
****Step Three: Review Said Mistakes, Dislikes & Other Lovely Comments**


	5. Unexpected Pitfalls ::05::

I know, I know – "WHERE HAVE _YOU _BEEN?" Am I right?

I could think up a bunch of excuses and tell you guys how busy I am, but it'd really just be taking up space. In good news, I think I've kicked off my Writer's Block, but I'm still very rusty, which will probably explain the complete and utter fail you are about to read. I wrote about 10 000 words and I WASN'T EVEN FINISHED, but I realized that the chapter was just too long but I couldn't find a place I wanted to chop it off at! So I ended up shedding about 5000 words of it. **5000 words gone,** though I saved them in a 'scraps' folder with the rest of my paragraphs and pages of scrapped writing, so I'll probably bring it out again when the story is more progressed.

**_In exchange, you get PROGRESSION, HOMG._**

Enough of my babbling! Onward!

**-X-**

**Chapter 5: Unexpected Pitfall**

**-X-**

Haruhi squeezed her eyes shut, the wind violently cutting at her face as she screamed. You were laughing too, arms hooked with Haruhi as you rocketed down the _Leviathan _Roller Coaster. The rest of the boys were paired up respectively: Mitsukuni & Takashi, Tamaki & Kyouya, and Kaoru & Hikaru. You pulled Haruhi closer, the sharp turns and loops making the two of you knock against the side of the rollercoaster painfully. The adrenaline shook you; the feeling in your stomach made you giddy – it was brilliant.

"That was scarrryy~!" Mitsukuni warbled when you all piled off. He looked up at your with those round brown eyes that made you uncomfortably numb. "Ne, Tiger-chan? Weren't you scared at all?"

"Of course not! Why would I be?" You laughed awkwardly. It was great that you _weren't _such a wuss when it came to roller coasters or amusement parks, so you could fully enjoy the experience without having to wimp out on any of the rides.

The whole gang of Ouran boys was dressed in casual clothes on the sunny Saturday afternoon, and you took the brief liberty of admiring their very attractive physique before looking away to sulk at your own scrawny figure. Takashi Morinozuka made you sulk the most. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with the sleeves slightly rolled up – it wasn't tight, but it was slim enough to make you blush and look away – with dark jeans – so simple, which made you feel all the worse about how drop-dead amazing he looked in it! The rest of the gang wore similar outfits; T-shirts or pullovers paired with jeans or cargo shorts. You, not wanting to show off too much skin, wore a black T-shirt on the inside with a hooded maroon cardigan, and cropped grey sweats. You didn't have much a choice, seeing as everything in your closet wasn't exactly... something a guy would wear. You didn't like frills or pink or whatever, but T-shirts for girls are slimmer with short sleeves, etc. Nothing really worked out that masculine feel, so baggier and the less skin exposure the better.

"So..." Haruhi remarked after a few more steps. "Where exactly are we going, now?"

Tamaki studied the map for a few seconds. "We've been on nearly everything. We still have the Behemoth, The Bat, Dragonaut, and Evolution... and the rest are rides that you have to pay for. Any requests?"

"Oh! Oh!" Mitsukuni pranced up and down until everyone's attention was on him, flowers fluttering in the air. "Haunted House!"

**-X-**

"Additional _3000 yen admission? _What is this, daylight robbery?" you spazzed at the cashier, looking at you bewildered. "For some Haunted House? This is insane!"

Haruhi offered a sympathetic look. "Kyo's right. This is... simply too expensive for a mere Haunted House attraction. No wonder you can only come to the Amusement Park if you were invited: it's only for people who have the money to afford all this!"

You shrugged. "No biggie, anyways. I don't really want to go in – I probably wouldn't get scared anyways."

Hikaru and Kaoru appeared on each side of you, arms bent and resting on your shoulders for support. "Probably? It sounds that you are merely trying to make an excuse to not go in. Scared, Tagara?"

Haruhi's eyebrows rose: they did _not _just go there!

"... You know what? I'm going to go in there, and when I come back out, the rest of you guys will forever honor me as the _God _of Haunted Houses," you spat, fumbling for your wallet and digging into it for some cash. You blinked, cheeks tinting as you bit your lip.

You didn't even have enough money.

When you lamely told them so, the twins didn't even believe you.

"Really?" Hikaru and Kaoru pressed, faces leering. You glowered at them and sighed.

"Look for yourself," you said, opening your wallet, showing them your lone coins and bills - Probably 1000 yen in there, at most.

"... OH MY GOSH, HE'S SERIOUS!" they blurted, guffawing like hyenas. You zipped your wallet back up with a scowl and shoved it into your pocket.

"We'll pay for you, Kyo, don't worry~" Tamaki sang, an arm wrapped around your shoulder. "We, the wealthier among the group, have this under control—GEH!"

You massaged your wrist from whacking him in the face and sighed. "Even a _lowly commoner _like me has some dignity. I'm not using any of your money, _especially _because you guys are the 'wealthier among the group'. I don't like owing people favors."

"I'll lend you some money, Tiger-chan!" Mitsukuni pouted, tears in his eyes. "Go in! I don't want Tiger-chan to miss out! You can pay me back!"

You looked down at him, his large, round eyes nearly making you give in, but you broke into another sheepish grin. "Sorry, Honey-kun, but it's really not worth the money, anyways."

Haruhi chuckled. "Well, since Kyo-chan's not going in, I guess I won't go in either. He has a point: it's expensive. I'll stay with him."

You blushed. You hadn't meant to drag Haruhi down with you. "S-Sure..."

"Think again," two nasal voices said in unison. You frowned; ready to punch a hole in their gut as they leaned their arms on her shoulder. "Haruhi is obviously coming with us."

"Oh really?" you propped up an eyebrow. "Says who?"

"Us. We're paying for her admission. Free of charge." Haruhi tilted her head innocently, not knowing what was going on. After a moment of glaring, you softened your expression. Well, you had gone karaoking with her the other days, and you _had _been rather possessive of her lately...

The last thing you wanted to be was clingy and needy.

"I guess... they're've got a point. Haruhi, you should go with them." At this, the twins looked at each other. _What?_

"Kyo? What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" she inquired, breaking free of the Twin's hold. They were still looking at each other, perplexed at why you had given up so easily.

Her gaze was firm and tentative, eyes trying to decipher the message you were giving her. You gave her a knowing glance, hoping she would get the idea and not offer too much of a fight. She was loyal, and you knew first hand. "I'll catch up with you guys later. See you guys in a bit!"

"I'll-... Fine," Haruhi gave in, and you smiled in approval. You gave her a wink, and rubbed your stomach: a gesture that you were hungry, and she grinned back. You took off for the nearest Fast-Food place, pulling your hood to your head so it wouldn't fall off while you ran. Once out of sight, you considered why you had given Kaoru and Hikaru the opportunity to be alone with Haruhi with out around. Were you giving in to them, or were you just being nice? Heaving an exhausted sigh, you sprinted to the stall and looked up at the menu for something cheap to fill you up.

Hikaru shared a glance with Kaoru, who looked back, the same message displayed in each other's eyes.

Why had you just let Haruhi go without a fight? That wasn't like you, seeing as they knew of your will to fight and how you weren't afraid to stand up to someone.

They exchanged more bewildered looks before their eyes widened. They had nearly missed the bigger picture!

Kyo Tagara was not only separated from Haruhi, but he was separated from the group _and _alone!

"We're going to grab a bite to eat, too!" they called out, and then shoved 3000 yen into Haruhi's hands.

She blinked, realizing that something was wrong. "Kaoru! Hikaru! Where—" Kyouya silence her with the bar of his arm, staring her down with his dark brown orbs. She sighed. "You guys and your secrets..."

Turning her towards the cashier, Kyouya stayed where he was as Haruhi went to pay, his eyes following the two Hitachiin twins until they disappeared from sight around a corner. His eyes narrowed, and then he sported a low chuckle as he turned around to walk forward.

_The next stage is always the chase, _he declared in his thoughts, handing the cashier his money.

**-X-**

You slurped noisily at your Sprite, occasionally getting distracted and biting the straw protruding from the paper cup. You had to admit; you looked rather abandoned and even a bit suspicious, with your hood pulled over to shade your face. Albeit, after thinking about it, you preferred looking a bit intimidating incase someone decided to sit down with you and start an awkward conversation.

Parting your lips from your drink, you stared at a couple passing by, and smirked. Couples at amusement parks: how cliché! Though you couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. It had been a long time since you last had a serious crush, and to be completely honest, you'd never had the guts to date just yet. Maybe you were scared of getting too emotionally close to someone, but just the thought of falling in love like some fairy-tale book made you snort.

"Ahh!" the girl cursed, hanging onto her boyfriend before bringing her foot up behind her. You saw the heel dangle loosely from the high-heel as she took off the shoe and balanced on one foot, blushing intensely and saying something to her boyfriend that you couldn't hear. The boyfriend smiled, laughing and shrugged, before walking two paces forward and squatting down. Your eyebrows rose up, and the girl's reaction was similar. Her cheeks went crimson as the boyfriend leered and patted his own shoulder to encourage her. Slowly, she got on, her arms wrapped around his neck and he gently put his arms below her thighs, hoisting her up as he stood. You rested your head on your hand as they walked off and mused. You wouldn't ever want a guy to carry you on his back, or anywhere. The thought of him calling you too heavy or whatever would send you to the pits of depression, and it'd take weeks to crawl back out, if not months. You heaved a sigh and closed your eyes; but still, you were jealous.

"P-please stop!" Your eyes flared open. Looking around for the mysterious feminine voice, you spotted a cute looking Japanese brunette, and tilted your head. A rather handsome-looking man was holding her wrists, and as she tried desperately to pull away while he kept his grasp on her, leaning in to plant a kiss. The muscles bulging in his forearms showed just how much force he was using, as if he would snap her slender wrists in half like a branch at any moment. You stood up from your seat; head tilting further as your eyes squinted.

"Come here, you little whore," he muttered in English, surprising you. She squirmed from his grip, but he held fast, his lips inches from her glistening cheeks stained with tears. She shrieked.

_Splash! _Your breathing was slightly labored, and your hood had flown off from sprinting over. Your extended arm held onto an empty paper cup, its soda content dripping from the man's nose and hair.

He let go of her wrists to wipe the soda from his eyes, his face breaking out into disarray and bewilderment. The words he spoke next came out in Japanese. "What did you _do_—"

"That was for nearly breaking her wrists, you _jerk_," you snapped, speaking in English flawlessly, voice louder and more demanding than usual. You stood protectively in front of the girl, who was hunched over and crying, the sobs like arrows to your chest. His face distorted from confusion to fury, his eyebrows furrowing, and his eyes widening with rage. You held your ground confidently despite your brain screaming for you to _'Run, idiot! RUN!'_

"You little brat, do you have _any _idea who I am? How dare you throw your drink at me when I'm trying to kiss my woman," He laughed, the sound like nails against the chalkboard to your eardrums. You held back the urge to punch him. "I'm Kenji Yamanaka! You just dumped soda on _THE_ _Kenji Yamanaka!"_

"Whatever, _Ken," _you spat as if his name wasn't even worthy of being spoken aloud, "I don't know who the heck you are, and I couldn't care less. You can _not EVER _harass a girl the way you just did, or anyone for that matter, and think you can get away from it."

His gaze on you was hard and suddenly seriousness flashed across his features, morphing into a deep frown. "You're gonna get regret this, kid. I'm going to bring you to my lawyer-"

"Bring me to your lawyer? Uh, earth to Kentaro or whatever your name is," that seemed to hit him hard, forgetting/mis-pronouncing his name. His face scrunched up and he looked about ready to murder. You continued, voice slightly shaky, "what you just did to this girl is know as physical _and _sexual _abuse. _Maybe you should go over that with your lawyer before you plan on suing my ass, because if you're really as high and mighty as you're acting, you wouldn't want to dirty your reputation with looking stupid, would you?"

Where on _earth _did this big mouth come from?

This pushed him over the edge as his fist drew back. Even the girl behind you whimpered, as if the sound would miraculously stop him from punching you square in the face.

Well, it didn't.

You crashed to the ground with a skid, scraping your exposed forearm because you had rolled up your sleeves. With your knees throbbing, and your wrists bruised, it took you a good several seconds to grasp back onto reality. Your cheek was blazing with pain, the intense throbs thundering against your brain. You groaned softly, determined not to show too much pain despite the rough landing having crippled you. You hissed at the pain, but managed to prop yourself up with your shaky elbows. Your left eye was shut from the blow as you evened out your breathing, standing up quickly to regain equilibrium. He scoffed, not even sparing his girlfriend a glance as you saw her rolling herself up into a ball, still sobbing. His shoulders squared, making him appear larger and more intimidating than before. You gulped, wondering what one earth your stubbornness had gotten you into. Just tell him that it wasn't cool to treat a girl like that, and walk away. But noooo, you just had to go all superhero flyboy on him and get all worked up!

You had always thought that when a situation like this came down, your magical karate skills would kick in and you would somehow leave with just a scratch.

Well, those didn't feel like showing up either.

As you backed away from Kentaro or whatever his name was, you could hear that nagging in your brain: _'You can still escape! Run!' _And a part of you really, _really, _wanted to dash off right then and there, and somehow make up an excuse to Haruhi and the rest of them why you were limping, but the other part of you commanded you to stay; the girl was still crying right there.

"Hey-" you winced before hissing at the pain and clamping both hands on the side of your face. The entire left side stung at even the slightest movement. You used your tongue to trail along your teeth, happy to find that none of them had chipped or broken off. The girl continued to cry as you felt like sobbing yourself. You hadn't meant for it to get so serious, or so violent.

Even as the man walked forward, gaze as hard as stone as he sized you up, you didn't run. Instead, you stood up straight, standing your ground and gave him a look that you hoped would just piss him off more.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" a security officer shouted, making his way over with his full black uniform. You exhaled, glad that help was on the way. You opened your mouth to speak, when the sharp pain erupted again and made you shut your mouth. You just hoped that the officer would—

"'Bout time ya came, Musuke," Ken spat, a smirk crawling onto his mouth. You gulped: that was no security officer, that was Ken's freakin' _bodyguard! _"You see all this? I was just trying to kiss my bitch over there when this bastard dumps his soda all over me and tries to tell me off! This is my favorite Dolce And Gabbana shirt! Limited f*cking edition!"

You sucked in a breath. It had been a while since you had left America, but you were no idiot to the name of this brand. It was one of those stores that you would never venture into unless you won the lottery, and _still _you wouldn't be able to understand how a simple shirt could cost two hundred dollars! If that was really Limited Edition, unholy h*ll, how much would that flimsy piece of fabric cost? You could see through it even _before _you weighed it down with your soda!

Courage left you like water down a drain. You gulped, shuffling back only to trigger an even wider grin from Ken. This was not good. Bodyguards are meant for guarding bodies. If Ken the jerk, here, was really as rich and glorious as he claimed to be, there was no way his bodyguard was just some big guy who could throw a few good punches. This meant that even if you _had _studied karate, kung fu or whatever, he could probably still find several different ways to kill you a chopstick and have your ass pinned to the ground in a matter of milliseconds.

"Did he?" the tall, burly man inquired, giving you a once over. Slowly, you thought you were seeing things at first, but from the same direction that the bodyguard had immerged from, more men clad in black rounded the corner to come into view. You shuffled backwards, defensive instincts kicking in to protect yourself. Just as you slightly turned your body to run back wards, from the corner of your vision you saw the girl sniffling, staring at the group of men in horror. Finally, she looked over at the two men, then at you, her eyes watering again with fat tears. You pursed your lips, jaw tightening as the pain returned, but you ignored it.

"Yeah. Stupid move, don'tcha think? Half of you on the slut." Kenji angled his nose up, eyes trained steadily on you. "The other half..._ him_."

You hurtled forward, legs sprinting faster than they had even during the timed distances you had suffered through with Kaoru. You ran protectively in front of her, arms out as you tried to muster a look of courage, failing as the inner ends of your eyebrows drew upwards in a look worry and fear. Your heartbeat thundered in your chest, and you swore that the men could smell your fear wafting in the air.

"STAND BACK!" You blinked at the sound of the familiar voice. The men in black seemed to take notice too, and look around for the rude interrupter.

A flurry wind spiraled towards them, rose petals and golden sparks being carried along the breeze. Takashi, Mitsukuni, Hikaru, Kaoru, Tamaki, Haruhi and Kyouya stood in a line, arms crossed if not down by their side. Several girls were already squealing and wiggling in their spots, fan girl hearts floating above their heads.

_What the frick?_

"For Love and Justice," Tamaki ran a hand through his glistening blonde hair, "the handsome periwinkle suited soldier Tamaki Suoh! In the name of the Host Club, I will punish you!"

Your jaw would have dropped if not for the immense pain. He did _not _just twist Sailor Moon's quote to fit his own description.

Kenji's eyes narrowed. "Suoh? Why does that sound familiar?"

Several of the men around you exchanged mumbles and glances. "Suoh? You mean... could he be... the son of Yuzuru Suoh?"

"Perhaps if you have heard of me," Tamaki voiced, "then you'll have also heard of the famous..."

"Haninozukas and Morinozukas?" At this, Mitsukuni and Takashi both flashed a fierce look up.

"Or what about... HITACHIIN?" The twins looked away in different directions, their gaze far-off.

"Surely..._OOTORI?"_ He gestured to Kyouya, who lowered his glasses to reveal his eyes through his lenses.

"And it's obvious you've never heard of Fujioka, so we don't have to mention Haruhi." At this, Haruhi sighed, shrugging. You blinked, having an excruciatingly hard time trying to figure out how the scenario had just turned around.

"Haninozuka?" Several men backed away, looks of horror dawning on their features.

"Morinozuka!" More men shuffled backwards, the same terror displayed.

"H-Hitachiin?" They all shuffled back, now.

"It- It c-couldn't be..." they faltered, words stammering. "_THE _OOTORI?"

You looked around as you lowered your arms, completely confused. Even the girl behind you had stopped sniffling, so dumbfounded at what was happening. You glanced behind at her, offering your hand to her. She took it, eyes never leaving the scene in front of you. You exhaled, inwardly hoping that things would be all right now.

"What are you guys doing?" Kenji yelled, the same anger on his face that was there moments ago. "Get those two! They can't get away with assaulting me like this without paying up!"

"If it's money you want," Kyouya took out a wad of cash from his back pocket and throwing it towards him. "We're very handsomely equipped."

Kenji caught the money and blushed, looking taken back. He glanced around at the surroundings. Finally, after all the commotion a decent crowd had formed to observe everything. He growled before stomping up to you, his bodyguards significantly less fierce as they backed away even more. "You-..."

You stared him straight in the eyes, your courage finding its way back to you along a smooth path. The look on his face slowly changed from anger to a different emotion as his eyebrows loosened up. He looked you once up and down again before turning on his heel, not muttering another word. He walked away from you, his brown hair rustling slightly because of the wind. He tossed the money back, and it landed on the ground with a plop. "Keep your stupid money."

"Tiger-chan!" Mitsukuni ran up to you, tugging on your other arm as the rest of them jogged towards you. Kenji was out of sight, and gone. Other than the crowd, the pain, and the girl behind you, it was as if it had never happened. "Are you okay?"

"Kyo-chan," Haruhi breathed, genuine concern etched on her face as she pulled you into a tight hug. "Gosh, I'm so glad you're all right!"

You smiled painfully as you pulled away, the pain in your cheek starting to dull as you realized it didn't hurt as much as before. You could probably speak now. "I-"

Scratch that. You cringed, doubling over in pain. _Don't talk, don't talk, don't talk... _you repeated to yourself relentlessly until the pain subsided, a constant reminder as to not move your jaw. Tamaki stepped forward and brought you back up to your feet. He cupped your chin, tilting your face gently to the side to take a look at your jaw line. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Your cheek...it's bruised."

"Did he break any of your teeth?" Haruhi inquired, eyes still filled with worry for you. You waved your hand in the air to motion a 'no', though your head screamed for an icepack or something to dull the pain.

Kyouya frowned, coming in closer to turn your chin towards him. "Your bruise is really bad. It's starting to swell, and it isn't looking pretty."

You made a sound in the base of your throat and looked over at the girl, who Mitsukuni and Takashi were tending to respectively on a bench a few meters away. You limped over to her, trying your best to ignore the pain, but your knees trembled with every step. You winced when your knees buckled, almost sending you crashing into the concrete floor.

"Hey, Careful!" You looked over to your left, where his face appeared. You stared at him, his arm extended to grasp your waist, and his golden eyes cast downwards at the path in front of you. You didn't even have time to feel embarrassed that your weight was now leaning on him.

"Idiot, If you can't walk, you should say something." You looked to your right, and the same face appeared, only a different person. If not for the immense throbbing to remind you of your injuries, you would have gaped. His arm extended around and clung onto the other side of your waist. Your arms were suddenly hoisted up onto both of their shoulders before you could say anything.

_What?_

"I'm... Kay..." you managed through as little movement as you could with your mouth, and slowly retracted your arms from their shoulders. You could feel them stop walking, and you were afraid that you had offended them. They had been trying to be nice, anyways. You turned around at them and gave a reverent bow of your head. The twins stared at you in bewilderment, looks of confusion that you had never before seen on their faces. There was something very strange about the way they were acting, but you couldn't put a finger on it.

"Tagara-san!" the brunette exclaimed upon seeing you. Her makeup was smeared around her eyes from all the crying, and her hair was a mess. You winced when she jumped up to hug you, but managed to hug her back without topping over. "Mori-kun and Honey-kun told me that was your name! Thank you so much! Thank you!"

"Mmng..." was all the noise you could make. She pulled away from you, and planted a big wet kiss on you're your right cheek. You managed to lift that side up into a smile and nod at her.

"You can't talk?" she whimpered. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I know how mean he can be, but I was so frozen in fear when he gripped my hands," she started to sob again, and you guided her head to rest against your shoulder. She sniffled, "And then you came along, but he started to shout at you, a-and then he punched you... I was just so scared, I couldn't move! Oh, I'm so sorry!"

You nodded, making weird 'mn' noises to show you were listening.

"We should get you both medical attention—" Kyouya intercepted, coming from behind you.

_"MNG!"_

"... I said _medical attention,"_ he repeated, in case you had heard wrong.

You growled.

The teenage boys stared at you in shock: did you just...?

Kaoru tried to reason with you now, his goofy demeanor gone. "The left side of your face took a bad hit. That guy may have seriously damaged or ruptured the veins in this girl's arm. You're being irrational—"

"Ice... only... all... me," you said slowly, the word coming out in a weird slur. The boys stared at you weirdly, but you didn't repeat the word, just because it hurt too much to move.

"I've already got Haruhi and Tamaki on that. Like I said, we need to get you to a doctor."

You frowned, waving your arms in front of you to gesture 'no'. "Just... her."

They stared at you weirdly, still unable to comprehend what you were saying. Fed up, you gave the gesture of writing. Kyouya flipped his clipboard to a blank sheet and handed it over. You slid the pen out from the top and wrote the words carefully on the board. Then, you held it out to them, giving them time to read.

'Just worry about the girl.'

**-X-**

"You're being impossible," Hikaru spat.

You snorted, stubbornly limping to the exit of the amusement park. The sun had set long ago, and with the help of 7 pairs of hands and legs, the girl was checked for injuries and brought home by Kyouya and Tamaki after they confirmed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. If you're wondering why it was Kyouya who happened to bring her home, let's just say that she turned out to be the daughter of a famous company in China or something. After learning this information, Kyouya's demeanor and worry flipped 180 degrees, and he was suddenly her designated Second Knight in Shining Armor – you, being the first. Since Tamaki and Kyouya had shared the same Limousine and driver to get here, they had to leave together. Just as you were slightly impressed with how they had carpooled, you were suddenly brought to the fact that they needed a limousine to drive two people. Your respect immediately diminished.

"Kyo..." Haruhi said, making you grunt in reply.

"Why are you doing this to yourself? You should at least get checked in a hospital or something!" You sighed.

"Is Tiger-chan scared of Doctors?" Mitsukuni offered hopefully. You shook your head to disagree, regretting the gesture. You stopped walking, your breathing already ragged and your paces already reduced to shuffles.

"That's it." You squeaked in protest as you were suddenly hoisted up into someone's arms. You were painfully aware of who it was, too. That voice had taught you to avoid his direction many times in school. "We're taking this brat to a doctor."

"Don! Don!" you griped, unable to pronounce 'down', wiggling in Hikaru's arms despite your body begging you to keep still. You grunted and growled in riot of the idea, but Hikaru held fast onto your body. You insistently struggled to get out of his grip: pick a reason.

"Calm down, Tagara," Kaoru remarked from his side, a smirk on his features. Obviously, the two devils were getting a kick out of watching you suffer, "We'll make sure to put you in the kiddy section where they give candy after we're done, if you're that scared."

You considered the idea of spitting in both their faces, but you realized that even you couldn't muster the courage to do something so atrocious.

"I'm vouching for the Twins, Kyo-chan," Haruhi voiced, eyes filled with worry. Guilt knocked on the door to your emotions, and you tried to keep it at bay.

"Tiger-chan, just go with us, ne? You don't need to be scared of the Doctors! Honey-chan will fight the bad ones away, ne? Okay?" You refrained from rolling your eyes and shouting that you _were not freakin' afraid of doctors._

"Mitsukuni," Takashi informed, "what about... curfew?"

Mitsukuni blinked, shrugging. "They'll understand, won't they, Taka-chan?"

"..." You took note that there was no 'Ah' to follow in agreement.

"It _is _late..." Haruhi muttered to herself, checking her watch. You looked at your own, seeing that it was nearly 10 o'clock. The lights around the amusement park had been turned on all around, and two hours had flown by like a gust of wind.

You sighed, wishing that the movements of your jaw weren't so painstaking and grievous. The real reason you couldn't go to the hospital wasn't something as controllable as that. You gripped the sleeve of Hikaru's shirt, the other hand squeezed the bridge of your nose, and he glanced down at you. Why were you being so difficult?

"I go... ngyself..." you managed to say without moving your jaw too much. Haruhi gave you a skeptical glance.

"So this is how you're gonna be, eh?" Hikaru scoffed. "You guys can all go home. Kaoru and I will bring this little jerk to get looked at."

**-X-**

You didn't have time to marvel at the interior of the Limousine. You were much too busy trying to either _wordlessly_ convince the Twins out of driving you to the Hospital, or attempt to spit at them a meter away on seats across from you in hopes that your liquid attacks might end up in them giving up and listening to you.

Takashi and Mitsukuni had had to head home for Mitsukuni's curfew, so they were in their own limousine riding back as you shifted uncomfortably in the high-quality, expensive leather seats. They had graciously offered Haurhi a ride home, seeing as the Hospital was the opposite way of her house, so it was unrealistic for her to come with you and be even later home. Since Haruhi didn't have a cellphone and it was hard to reach her dad, you understood why she couldn't stay with you. That being said, you longed for her familiar voice and her company.

"We're here." At the words, you latched onto the seatbelt base and the protruding bar from the door to keep yourself stationary, dropping the ice bag into your lap. The twins raised an amused brow at you, speculating on your actions.

"You're _that_ against going to the Hospital?" Kaoru spoke. You nodded, only to cringe because the movement hurt too much. He kept staring at you, mind racing.

"One reason."

"I... I can't..." You sucked in a breath and held it. The twins blinked.

"Afford it," you finished.

There. It was out. You waited for their bursts of laughter, their mocking words, and their pointed fingers. You braced yourself for all the pent up emotions to be held back, and you waited for the feeling of regret and humiliation.

Several seconds of silence passed, and the first sound came. A scoff. You winced.

"Is that all?" You swallowed the wad of saliva in your mouth and waited intently for more.

"If it's something as stupid as that, why wouldn't you just tell us?" Kaoru spoke this time, and you gripped the bar on the door harder.

You opened your sore eyes, tired from being squeezed tight, and stared at Hikaru incredulously as they started getting out of the car.

"No-" A click to your left signaled that the door had been opened, and you snapped your head to the left in surprise.

"Come on kid, press your seatbelt open," Hikaru extended an arm.

Kaoru followed suit. "We've gotta make sure you're not hurt."

**-X-**

"Mhm, you don't come here often, that's for sure. That's a good thing, I'm assuming," the doctor muttered, looking at your files and previous documents.

"... The only times you have been here were when you needed your immunizations." He chuckled. "Did you take enough damage today to make up for the decade you didn't pay us a visit."

You made a mock laughter sound, unable to actually laugh. As a lie, the twins told the nurses outside that you had fallen down the stairs to cover up for actually being beat up. Then, you had requested to be alone when the doctor came in, which was a smart move, because he immediately called you 'Miss Tagara' upon greeting you. Obviously, when it came to personal matters of Identification and stuff, you were written down as female.

He finally finished writing down his last word in your file and nodded to you. "Nothing severe. You've broken your ankle, but the blow to your cheek here has only caused a bruise. You've already put ice on it, but I'll give you some painkillers—"

"No," you managed, "I have... some at..."

"You have some at home, I surmise?" he finished for you. You made a 'mhm' sound, and he smiled. "Brilliant. A nurse will come in shortly to put your leg in a cast, and I'm going to supply you with a pair of crutches, sound fair?"

You nodded, and the doctor said a few more words to you, but you were too distracted to pay attention and only nodded your head. He stepped out, and soon a nurse came in to help you put on the cast, instructing you how to take it on and off when you showered or such.

You had no idea what you were going to do.

**-X-**

When you came out of the Hospital hall on crutches and a cast, the twins' frown only deepened.

When they had first found you, you were sitting on a picnic table, slurping lazily at your Sprite. They had smirked at each other and wandered off to blueprint a prank on you, unknowing of the danger that had aroused in the small time they had been gone. When they were about to initiate the plan, the rest of the guys from the Host club were back from the Haunted House, and the Twins led them to where you were sitting, eager to let them in on the prank. Unbeknownst to them of the situation at hand, when they got back, you were dashing with all your might to shield the girl from a pack of bodyguards dressed in black.

If they had stayed closer by...

Or if they hadn't gone off...

You wouldn't be on those crutches. You would be able to talk, sing, spit at them, shout at them with your lame insults that made them rolled their eyes and scoff...

How tired and exhausted you looked as you came out of the hallway with crutches under each arm – it made the lump in their chest harder to fade away.

"Nothing serious, the doctor says." The twins were shocked to hear your speech in tact and no longer slurred. "I'm going to be on crutches and this cast for about a month, or at least a few weeks. Other than that, there's been no permanent damage: Just a bruised cheek, which makes talking painful, but not unbearable. I'd rather deal with a bit of pain than stop talking."

The twins jeered. "Don't we know it."

You glared, but pushed down the need to retort, seeing as the words that followed wouldn't be in place. "And also... uh.. thanks for the ride; and for staying here with me. You didn't have to."

"...We know." They both shrugged nonchalantly, and lead you outside. You limped behind a bit on your crutches, but managed to settle into the limousine without much trouble.

"Kyo," Hikaru started, a few minutes into the ride, "You're going to have to give us your address..."

"... If you plan to make it home at all tonight," Kaoru finished, the same smirk on his face as his brother's

You blushed and scratched your head. "Could I... quickly borrow your phone for a few minutes?"

**-X-**

_"It's really fine, Kyo-chan! Even dad says it's completely-"_

"No, i-it's okay. I don't want to put that responsibility on you. It's not that big of a deal..."

There was silence on the other end, but Haruhi finally spoke up. _"Are you sure? I'm sure if we really tried, we could keep quiet for—"_

"Staying undercover while going down the stairs noisily in the morning? Easier said than done..." The twins watched you curiously as you conversed with Haruhi over the cell phone.

"It's not up for discussion. I momentarily forgot that you had stairs, too," you covered. In reality, of course you remembered. You used to go to her place all the time and you had always used that stairwell to play games on. You weren't even quite sure what you hoped to achieve with the phone call. You had phoned to see if she had reached home yet, and she could pick up her home phone, so that obviously meant she was safe and sound. Asking to stay at her place for a few days wouldn't only pose a nuisance on her, but for you as well. She wasn't dirt poor, but you knew her situation better than anyone; another person's rent on their bill would push them into a financial pinch. You didn't have a job to repay them for it yet, so it was out of the question. You couldn't even take money out of your own rent because it was paid in advanced from your mother's will, so there was nothing you could do.

Being poor sucked.

_"If it's just for a few days—"_

"It's okay," you cut her off before she needed to rack herself for ideas. You didn't have whole variety of options. She was your only friend here in Tokyo – in JAPAN, actually! You couldn't stay with anyone else. "I've got this under control, don't worry, Haru-chan. It's Saturday, so I don't need to worry about the mornings until school comes again."

_"...I'll talk to you later, then, Kyo-chan. Phone me when you decide on something. I'm here for you."_

"Got it. Talk to you soon, Haru-chan." You clicked the 'End Call' button and handed the phone back to Kaoru. He slipped it into his pocket.

It took you a moment to keep your emotions in check. "I... Could you guys take me home?"

They blinked at you in unison, curios as to why you looked so frustrated. "Sure?"

"3-10-6 Torakusho, Shibuya-ku," you recited. "Bet it doesn't sound familiar."

**-X-**

"I-I didn't know a place like this existed, Kaoru!"

"I-It's atrocious, Hikaru!"

"Gee," you snorted, "thanks."

Your building was run-down and streaked with mysterious stains on the cement walls. The inside was hardly as bad, though. Insulated walls, a bathroom, a room, a kitchen, and a small space for the living room – the basics had pretty good foundation to them. The overall bill itself for the place was pretty cheap, but the higher up you were, the lower the price. Yes, the better the view, but when you have to walk up 30 flights of stairs at least twice a day if you want to go out, without an elevator, you'd understand why it's so much lower than the first floor residence.

"Thanks... for the ride," you announced, giving them a respectful wave. They were holding each other and trembling comically, and you couldn't help but laugh at how innocent they looked. Compared to whatever billionaire mansion they must live in, the sight of your living arrangements must have looked like purgatory to them.

You stood at the base of the building, the door in front of you. Glancing back, you gave them another wave, expecting them to leave. The limousine stayed put, and you thought that maybe it was just etiquette for them to not leave until you were safely in the building. You shrugged, putting the key into the keyhole and turning it.

"A key? How old fashioned." You jumped at the voice, your gasp making a big puff of air in the cool weather.

"There's no sensor? Or pass code?" You turned to look at the identical faces as they innocently peeked over your shoulder.

"Nothing that fancy. Why are you guys out here?"

"To help you with the door." They wrinkled their noses. "It reeks."

"Then go back into the car," you sighed, opening the old, rusty door with a loud creak. They shuddered, as if the sound were foreign to their ears. You raised a brow at their childishness and laughed, using your crutches to slowly make your way to the base of the stairs.

"Well, thanks agai—"

"There's... no elevator?" You gulped, steadily putting your crutches on the first step. With a hand on the railing, you hoisted yourself up onto the stairs, repeating the process with the second and third steps.

"... You're kidding, right?" Rolling your eyes, you gave them a glance back.

"Welcome to my world, Hitachiin brothers."

"What floor do you live on?" Hikaru asked slowly, his voice sounding weird. You blinked; was it just you, or did he sound... scared?

"Eighteenth." You hoisted yourself up onto the eighth step successfully. Looking up, you sighed. Eight down, and thirty two more to go...! Until the first floor.

Keeping your groan at bay, you listened for the sound of the rusty door closing behind you to signify the twins leaving.

Instead of the sound, came the words spoken in unison, "Get back in the car."

"...What?" you couldn't help but blurt incredulously. They each took you under one arm and hoisted you back down. "Hey! _What are you doing!"_

"We'll send someone to get some of your stuff later, if you really want. Bastien!" They called out to their driver. He nodded and opened the rear doors of the limo. You raised both eyebrows up, thoroughly befuddled.

"Wait, stop it! This is my apartment, it's the right place!"

Pushing you into the limousine, they put your crutches on the car floor. Bastien closed your door for you, and as the twins hopped in and their doors closed too, you finally understand what was going on. You could only hope you were wrong.

"You-... You wouldn't..."

In flawless harmony, they bellowed, "To the Hitachiin Estate!"

**End Chapter. **

**-X-**

It's such a freakin' pain in the ass when you know _EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN IN THE FREAKIN' CHAPTER, BUT YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE IT OUT ((SEIZURE))_

That being said, I hope you enjoyed this! I apologize for any OOCness you might have spotted, but I'm still working on it. I'll try to keep the twins in character, but PHEW! Is it hard to include all six guys equally in one chapter or what? Sooner or later, you'll get some one on one fluff with these wonderful bishies, but all in good time...

**Reviewing just tells me that you want me to post the next chapter before you spazz out and whoop my ass. That's all (;**


	6. Wrong Conclusions ::06::

Harhar. I'm so excited about this story. I have soo much in store, so you don't have to worry about anything for a good, I don't know... 10 chapters? Okay, that's just pushing it. 5 sounds good. Yeah. 5 chapters without big hiatus waits. UNLESS I FALL UNDER A WRITER'S BLOCK FOR LIKE A 56th TIME. AHAHAHA.

...Knock on wood. Aherm.

**QUICK NOTE BEFORE YOU READ.** I really doubt the twins are spoiled _this _silly, but for the sake of this fanfic and my lack of knowledge in their humble abode, I'll play it up. Hope none of you guys mind ^^ This chapter is a biiit on the short side, but 3000 words is enough to tell you guys that I'm alive, right? ^^'

**-X-**

**Chapter 6: Wrong Conclusions**

**-X-**

With every tree, block, and red light the limousine drove past, you could feel the spiraling vortex in your stomach growing and clawing at your nerves. You swallowed the wad of saliva building up in your mouth and tried to think of an excuse: _anything. _They had shot down all your attempts at dissuading them from their offer and remained headstrong about it.

"Really, now," you let out a shaky laugh. "...What will your parents say? I'm... sure they'd be against me staying over-"

"If we didn't know better," they admonished arrogantly, "we'd think that you were afraid of coming to our place, Kyo."

"I _am_!" you blurted, resulting in two pairs of orange eyebrows going up. The culmination of the stress, anxiety, and perplexity of the situation had slapped you in the face. "I am, okay? Why are you guys hoping to accomplish through this: show off some of your high-class life style? Do I look like a charity organization to you, or some helpless orphan for you to generously sponsor each month? Don't tell me that you both were just feeling generous or were in a good mood, because we all know that that isn't the case."

Hikaru and Kaoru blinked simultaneously, exchanging a look with each other. They couldn't help but compare you to an abused dog, wary and on-guard to whoever approached, skeptical and stubborn to accept any kind offering out of fear.

But ... were they your abusers?

"It's not too late to turn around," you muttered grimly, energy drained. It had been a long day, filled with disasters and too much of the out-of-the-ordinary. You wanted nothing more than to lie in your bed at home, maybe take a hot bath and rest your aching body. You didn't need this kind of bullying this late at night. It was one thing to annoy you during the day, but to deprive you of sleep too was just _asking _to be hated.

You blew out a heavy sigh and closed your eyes, shielding your forehead with your hand. "I don't need your pity party. If you're just going to bully me for the entire time we're in each other's presence, or end up charging me some expensive fee that I obviously can't pay for... then I'd rather crawl up those forsaken 18 floors."

Silence clamped over everyone's mouth as the rhythmic revving of the vehicle muted out any other sound.

"They won't be home."

You gazed up at them. "What?"

"Our parents," they clarified, expressions unreadable and solemn. "They're rarely home."

You regarded them in silence, amber eyes unwavering as you caught both their gazes. It was moments like that where you could understand why people couldn't tell them apart, and how alike they truly were. Sitting on either side of the car seats, they each had an elbow propped up against the black window ledge, an identical frown poised on their handsome faces. They were both watching you, also soundlessly, as if patiently waiting for your reaction. Having cleverly steered out of answering your suspicions again, you grunted.

It was late.

And as much as you were still fearful of their intentions, you _really _didn't want to aimlessly clamber up 18 flights of stairs.

"I guess..." Your voice was nearly a broken whisper. "I'll be in your care until the morning."

**-X-**

You had dreamt of a house like theirs in a variation of dreams and fantasies before. No, they didn't live in the Palace of Versailles, but this was no shack in the middle of the forest, either.

Maybe labeling it 'something out of your dreams' was pushing it a bit, but it genuinely was. You didn't dream of outlandish fairy-tales and royal castles, anyways. You'd prefer a cozy little apartment to an empty 2-story house any day.

It was a large stone mansion, and just from the array of lit-up windows adorning the outside, you could tell that there were at least 3 floors, not including any basements or floors hidden underground beneath eyelevel. The driver, Bastien, politely opened your car doors, and you were too in awe of the enormous front doors to even initiate the first step out. This was embarrassing and a bad move for many reasons, because it ended up with Hikaru and Kaoru carrying you out: bridal style, no less.

Of course, to them you were injured and therefore having some trouble getting out of the car, and it wasn't like they could piggy-back you out.

You weren't one for childish fantasies, but it still took a whole lot of willpower and avoidance of eye contact to hide the blush on your face.

"You look like you're about to faint, Tagara. Do you need me to carry you inside, or do you think you'll manage?" Hikaru taunted, earning him a stifled smirk and a jab in the side.

"If your parents are rarely home, then is it just you two all the time in this huge place?" you marveled, unable to resist a look of awe at all the gorgeous home. However, just like a storybook castle, the inside walls were pure white, adorned with exquisite paintings and antique pieces placed on tall pedestals. Right above your head was a glass chandelier. The light extended to cover the entire front entrance, including the massive staircase ten meters in front of you.

Kaoru smirked, the lift of his lips making butterflies appear in your stomach. Wait. _What? _"We have a lot of servants, as you can see."

"Servants," you repeated, nodding to the various maids and butlers on the inside that bowed to you upon arrival, acknowledging the twins devotedly. "Right. I forgot that rich kids like you need a helping hand at everything. And I do mean _everything._"

"Hey!" It was your turn to be jabbed, only to be attacked in both directions and have an aching pain in both sides of your waist.

"That's not fair! I only jabbed one side — and I didn't even jab Kaoru yet!" you laughed, but just as you finished your last few words, the twins took a moment to suddenly stare at you in alarm.

"Err... " You resisted the heat rising to your cheeks and turned politely to the servants. "Um... not that I'd actually hurt them. I-I was only joking..."

After a moment of blinking, the twins broke out into smirks. "It's already midnight! Bastien will show you to your room!"

"Right-" You gasped when Bastien nodded and two men came from the sides to carry you up the giant staircase, careful with your ankle. "I don't need to be carried! I'm a guy! I-I haven't taken my shoes off yet!"

**-X-**

Just when you thought you had an idea of their wealth, your jaw dropped upon arrival of 'your room', supposedly one of the many Guest Rooms in their abode. You closed your open mouth when the dull pain of your cheek returned momentarily and sighed, slowly crutching your way to the bed.

The room was about the size of your apartment, which wasn't enormous, but it really said something about the wasted space used for pillows, couches, flat screened TV...

_And an en suite. _You swallowed, limping over to the bamboo tiled paradise. _Oh, how I've dreamed of being in my own en suite..._

"What do you think?" The brothers leered at you from the doorframe. Your constant expression of awe and astonishment had pushed their calm composure into boastful territory. There was something about that complete amazement in your eyes that pleased them.

"I won't be able to sleep tonight," you replied in a soft voice. "Whether I open my eyes or close them, I won't be able to tell if I'm dreaming or not. There's a freakin' _veil_ over the bed! And don't even get me started about the en suite!"

Hikaru shrugged, though he was more than satisfied with your answer. "Easily impressed, are you?"

"If this is your idea of a dream," Kaoru bragged, arriving swiftly at your side, "then you should see _our _room. It's easily cloud nine."

"That sounds like a bad pick-up line!" Laughing, you sat down onto the Queen bed, leaning your crutches on the nightstand. Once you confirmed that it wouldn't slide off and knock over anything expensive, you fell back onto the heavenly bed sheets. "You're kidding, right? Oh, I'm so sore~"

Lifting your blanket over your legs and the rest of your body, you nuzzled your face into the pillow and gathered up the sheets so that you were basically wrapped up in a chrysalis. You let out a soft moan, completely unaware of the wide pairs of golden eyes ogling your strange behavior. It felt so good, _too _good to be wrapped up in these sheets after such a disastrous day.

"I take it that this is much better than crawling up 18 floors, _oui?" _came Kaoru's voice. You managed to suppress a giggle, too delighted with all the bliss surrounding you.

"Yes, so much better. Miles better. I don't know how I could possibly repay—" You shot upright, still wrapped in the sheets. Your eyebrows drew up in a look of skepticism. "Speaking of which, you're... you're... Are you going to—"

"If you asking whether or not we're going to make you pay us back, the answer is no," they declared concurrently, making you wonder if they practiced this on a daily basis. Still, you gave them a wary stare.

"...Really?"

They both nodded, but it was Hikaru who said, "If you're that worried about it, we'll get our lawyer to write up a contract tomorrow and we'll sign it."

You blinked, bringing the sheets in tighter. "Well... I guess that would be convenient, though it's still a bit sketchy since I don't have my own lawyer to look over it..."

Kaoru rolled his eyes. "We're not going to charge you, Tagara."

"Swear by something."

Orange eyebrows shot up. "Swear?"

"Like... I don't know, swear to your love for one another, or something that you hold precious," you explain, eager to get this over with so you could sleep.

They were still observing you with interest, thoroughly amused with your change in character. "We'll swear on Haruhi, then."

You were rudely slapped awake by their answer. You contemplated their challenging expressions and answered with a smirk of your own. "That's how you're going to play, huh? Fine. If you do end up charging me, it means that you _both _can't ever have Haruhi, and I'll always come before both of you in her heart. Of course, even without this, I'd _still _come before both of you, but just to solidify things and give everyone a mutual understanding."

They glared, golden eyes menacing. "Deal."

"Deal," you fired back just as haughtily, and then you let out another groan and fell back. "Turn off the lights as you guys leave, won't you? I really don't want to get up."

When they remained silent, you thought horrifically that they were angry about the deal, and had left without shutting off the light just to get back at you. Maybe they really were planning to charge you, but now they couldn't because of Haruhi, which meant that Haruhi really meant that much to them... To think that they replied with Haruhi when you asked them to swear by something precious. Were they already madly in love, and with the same girl, no less? How fruitless!

Though just as you were about the peek up, the lights went off in the room. You smiled to yourself and nuzzled your face in the sheets further, only to suddenly pop up in bed again.

**-X-**

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" they heard you shout their names from inside your room. Considering that maybe you would argue with them about a more everlasting swear then Haruhi, they took their time going back to your room.

They appeared at the doorway, opening the door just wide enough for the light from the hall to seep into the room with a distorted rectangle. They saw you sitting upright in your sheets again, a look of concern on your features. When they appeared, however, you shot them a faint smile.

"I... forgot to say thank you," you rasped. "I'm sorry for doubting your intentions when you guys both drove me to the Hospital, and stayed with me, and you ended up getting home really late. I know I don't seem like I do..., but I really appreciate what you've done for me, even if it's only one night."

"I owe you both, whether you charge me or not," you murmured softly, voice filled with gratitude. "So... I hope you have a good night's sleep, and thank you."

Ten seconds: that's how long the twins stayed silent for, without a word or a chuckle. Ultimately, they each gave you a sly grin and a 'goodnight' before easing the door shut.

They disappeared to their own bedchamber, heart pounding and bewildered.

**-X-**

It was a cold night, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary, seeing as it was the middle of October.

Facing the opposite direction of his brother, Kaoru fluttered his eyes open, giving the clock a glance. In bold red numbers, it read '1:53'. His eyelids drooped, shielding his eyes from the crimson glow.

_He watched curiously as your gaze settled on the girl a few meters away, face relaxing in relief. You slowly made your way over with weak legs and a limping hunch. He walked after you, swooping to catch you when your knees suddenly gave in and holding you by your waist protectively._

There was nothing there. He was just guilty; and pitied you for being weak and unable to defend yourself. Ch.

_"Come on kid, press your seatbelt open," Hikaru extended an arm._

_Kaoru followed suit. "We've gotta make sure you're not hurt."_

Courteous. He was being gentlemanly.

_"That's not fair! I only jabbed one side — and I didn't even jab Kaoru yet!" you laughed, but just as you finished your last few words, the twins took a moment to suddenly stare at you in alarm._

You had been able to tell them apart without a second glance. Was it just by memory? You must have taken note of which side they were on before, or... memorized their hair parting. There are a lot of reasons you could have known, for that one instant, which twin was which. But the fact that you had called him so casually by first name and not even caught it... were you warming up to them?

_"If this is your idea of a dream," Kaoru bragged, arriving swiftly at your side, "then you should see our room. It's easily cloud nine."_

You had laughed in reply._ "That sounds like a bad pick-up line!" _

Kaoru closed his eyes and held back a disgruntled noise from the bottom of his throat. Had he purposely meant for such a suggestive statement to come out? He obviously didn't have that intention. Your reply had just led him to second-guess himself. You were the sick-minded one, not him! Not him...

He felt Hikaru shift behind him, the movement too big to be just a simple shuffle. He turned around too and just like he had speculated, the two brothers were suddenly face-to-face, eyes wide open, and very much awake.

_"I owe you both, whether you charge me or not," you murmured softly, voice filled with gratitude. "So... I hope you have a good night's sleep, and thank you."_

You were acting strange. So strange, that they had nearly been unable to take their bewildered eyes off you. Why had you gone through such a one-eighty transformation? Where was that feisty snappiness that never failed to keep their senses alert, and challenge the utmost peaks of their mischief?

You had alternated out for awe-struck eyes, defenseless grins, and heart-warming words. Had the blow to your head _actually _damaged something, and had you chosen not to voice it? Maybe that was too far fetched, but... it confounded them: exactly which side was the real Kyo Tagara?

"Kaoru..." Hikaru's voice scraped against the cool night air. His brother blinked twice and smiled.

"Yes, Hikaru?" Hikaru held his gaze firmly with his younger twin's, his somber face reflected in golden orbs.

"What are you thinking about?"

"...Kyo."

"...Same here."

Kaoru retracted his exposed feet from the open and pulled them under the covers. "Don't you feel like... he's been acting weird lately?"

"He's been rather strange," Hikaru agreed. "Honestly, what's with all the cuddling in the bed sheets? Watching him was like watching a girl..."

They looked up simultaneously; hands were mere inches from each other, their breath at the others' neck.

There was no other reasoning, was there? Had they been so blind as to not see it?

It made sense; what else could possibly explain that girly rolling around in the covers, or that weird feminine aura of yours?

After physical education in the change rooms, they had tried several times to catch you in nothing but boxers to further persevere with their taunting tactics, but they had failed to catch you out in the open each and every time. You'd pressed yourself against the wall and slide into a washroom stall, away from the rest of the boys and changed there instead.

You blushed much more with both Mitsukuni and Takashi than you did with _any _girl at your table. You weren't even attracted to them, that was why! How could you be? They were _girls!_

It was why you got along with Haruhi so well – she must have always known, having known you for such a long time. Although you played the card of being attracted to her, or flirt with her, she never took you seriously because you knew that _Haruhi was a girl, _which made it needless for Haruhi to worry because...

They bolted upright into their beds, eyes wide in shock of the reality.

"Kyo is homo!" they concluded in synchronization.

**-X-**

**Kewkewkachew. Leave a review? (:**


	7. Shades of Red ::07::

**-X-**

**Chapter 7: Shades of Red**

**-X-**

You let out an agonizing groan when you awoke the next morning, your jaw in no better condition than it was yesterday night, if not worse. Flipping your blanket off, you shivered at the cold air and instantly darted your arms and legs back into the covers. You initiated a painful grunt as you moved your left leg, forgetting about your injury. Your mind was still half-asleep with fatigue. Gingerly, you rubbed your crusty eyes awake until you could finally make out the colorful blurs to be objects in the room.

Still sitting upright, you stared ahead, where a large vanity mirror stared back at you with your reflection.

May no poor soul ever wander across you first thing in the morning. Your cheek was swollen beyond recognition and your messy dark auburn hair pointed up in every direction, like rays of light shining off a disco ball. If you hadn't woken up to it every day for sixteen years, you probably would have clamped your hands over your mouth and gasped, too. You moved you jaw around, surprised to find the ache already relieved with movement. Looking into the mirror, you took note of the slight pink-purple color and some swelling. In a day or two, it'd probably leave a nasty blue, purple wad of _nasty._

Your brained was slowly alerting into focus, too, just as the remnants of last night came rushing back to you. You groaned for the second time, irritated with yourself. What on _earth were you thinking? _Rolling around in the covers and squealing like some fangirl on her wedding day! The exhaustion had obviously gotten to you, but it was surely no reason to lose your cool like that and flail around like -

"Good morning, sir." Halting your train of thought, you glanced over at the sweet voice, belonging to a pretty maid at your doorway. Her hair was in a short brown bob with bangs stopping short of her eyes, and she smiled warmly at you, making your stomach feel fuzzy all over again. "Did you sleep well?"

You blushed, unfamiliar with the 'sir', _or _talking to someone in the morning. "Uhh... yes. D-Did you hear me groan?"

She giggled, a hand coming up to shield her lovely smile. She really was cute, but looked no older than you – maybe even younger! It was ironic that you looked so horrific in the morning. "Yes, sir. We wouldn't want to intrude upon your slumber without any kind of signal that you were awake. Would you like breakfast now?"

"B-Breakfast?" you repeated in shock. "Uhh... no, not yet. I haven't even brushed my teeth!"

The maid blinked at you with her large brown eyes, nodding. "My apologies, sir. I did not know that that was what you were accustomed to."

You raised a brow at this, beginning to (regrettably) leave the bed and put your hands on the crutches. She walked over to help you stand up. "Oh, thanks. But... what do you mean? Don't Hikaru and Kaoru brush their teeth before they eat?"

She tilted her head cutely to the side to show her inability to grasp with the mental image. "I'm afraid not, sir. I will bring the toiletries to you, then."

"Oh, the two guys from yesterday put them there after they carried me in. But thank you, anyways." She merely stared at you, before offering a sympathetic smile.

"No, sir. I mean that I will bring them... _to _you."

... _Oh. _You blushed again, unable to hide your inexperience with their 'spoiled' lifestyle. "I-I'm fully capable of going to the sink myself, so it's really fine... I'm Tagara Kyo, by the way. What's your name?"

She turned slowly to face you, a confused expression on her face. "I'm... Mikaela, Sir. Yale Mikaela."

"Yale, like the American University?" She blushed and nodded. You found it funny how the roles were suddenly turned, and she was the one blushing now instead, for some odd reason. "Thanks, Mikaela. You can just call me Kyo. I'd much rather have you call me by my name instead of something so distant sounding like 'Sir', wouldn't you agree?

She beamed and giggled, the sound brightening your morning. "Yes, sir... I mean, K-Kyo-san!"

"Awesome. Oh! Er... the twins wouldn't happen to be up already, would they?"

"The young masters prefer to sleep until the late afternoon on days without school. Would you like to do the same, Kyo-san?" You laughed. You couldn't even believe what you just heard. One, 'the young masters' and two, 'sleep until the late afternoon'? They really were spoiled silly! Not that waking up late was necessarily a wrong thing, but if you lived this lifestyle, you wouldn't spend the majority of the day _sleeping!_

"I'm already awake," you stated enthusiastically. "Give me a moment to freshen up and I'll be right down!"

**-X-**

"I- I... really, I can't eat this, I just- I..." you stammered, the heat having resided in your cheeks for a while now. In front of you was a plate of freshly grilled sausages, bacon, eggs (sunny-side-up), and French toast.

That itself was enough to fill you up, seeing as you weren't very hungry, but it didn't stop there.

To your right, sat an omelet fat with ham on the inside that looked like it would explode if you _blew _on it too hard. Next to it, a plate of blueberry waffles caked with whipped-cream and syrup, as well as what looked like _chocolate sprinkles _adorning the top. To your left, a bowl of hot macaroni in soup with strips of ham, some greens and yellows (probably corn...?). You gulped when your eyes wandered over to the pot of steamy oatmeal, just waiting to be devoured.

Oh boy.

"Nonsense, Mister Tagara!" You winced at the booming optimism of the servants speaking all together. "Please eat as much as you'd like!"

An old man stepped forward and bowed. "Mister Tagara, we implore you to enjoy our selection of breakfast from the very cooks of the Hitachiin Estate!"

"Th-that's not the... problem..." You waved your hands in front of you. "I ... wasn't planning on eating breakfast here anyways, because I didn't want to owe the Hikaru and Kaoru anything, but... even if I was, did you not inform the cooks that they were only cooking for _one person?"_

"Well... I suppose you are right, Mister Tagara," the old man agreed. "It seems that our kitchen staff were much too excited to be cooking breakfast again, since the young masters have not been down to enjoy their early morning meals in a while..."

You blinked, propping up an eyebrow. "Not even on school days?"

"No, Mister Tagara." You frowned, staring at all the food in dismay.

"There's way too much food! How could I possibly finish it all on my own?"

"You won't have to." You turned your head at the voice of the two devils that owned the mansion. Walking down the stares side by side, their golden eyes never leaving you. You glanced away, not feeling as bold as you'd like, and wondered why the were staring at you with such...

"Today," they both said, eyes briefly glancing away from you to address the servants, "we will enjoy breakfast."

... Interest?

An enthusiastic applause erupted from the servants as they scrambled to prepare two more sets of silverware. You shifted in your seat and cleared your throat awkwardly when you could see, from them corner of your eye, that they were _still staring at you._

What the heck?

"Good morning," you greeted lamely.

They looked at each other, like a child would look at his moth for reassurance that she was still there, and they both broke out into a devilish grin on the spot, "Morning."

In a flash, they were on either side of you, pulling out the chairs to accommodate their seat. You winced as they plopped down and rested their elbow on the table, making a great show of still staring at you. You tried to hide your inner police sirens: it was so obvious. They had remembered everything from last night and hadn't walked away from it with a shrug. The twins had figured out your secret.

At the thought, you habitually brought your fingers to pinch your nose irritably, hoping desperately that they were just acting a little strange because they were usually devilish, or they had a prank in store for you. Never in your life would you ever think you would be so desperate for their immature antics.

"You know, I should just get going—" You got less than an inch off your seat before hands clamped down on your shoulders on either side.

"Just sit, Tiger-kun," Hikaru purred.

"Besides, we already said we wouldn't charge for anything we offer... Unless you don't remember anything from last night." The clean tilt of Kaoru's voice was impossible to miss. Oh boy.

"Y-yes, I... remember..." you sputtered, his words confirming your suspicions. Yes! Of course they knew! And of all the hosts, it had to be the two that you dreaded the most finding out first! Of course, you can say you had it coming. No straight guy would ever act the way you did in that stupid room, unless he were a really, _really feminine_ or deeply confused – maybe drunk, but—

"Pardon the interruption, young masters and Mr. Tagara, but if you do not start eating, the food will grow cold... Shall we reheat it for you?"

"That will be unnecessary..."

"Because we'll begin eating now." You gulped, your attention briefly stolen by the large amounts of food.

"This is way too much food," You stole a glance at the two twins, who were beginning to pick up their utensils.

"It doesn't matter. They don't expect us to finish it all anyways."

"What? You mean they purposely cooked more food than what we could eat? What kind of logic is that?"

"The more variety the better," Hikaru replied, "not that commoners like you would understand."

Kaoru nodded. "It's a bigger problem if we have too much to eat than if we don't have enough, obviously. They can just throw out what we don't eat."

With your good foot, you pushed against the ground to thrust your chair back from the table. "Excuse me, could you please bring me my crutches?"

The servant nodded, though a bit baffled. "O-of course, though you might want to ask Hayama to carry you—"

"No, it's alright. Just bring me my crutches, please." Hesitantly, he brought you your crutches that were leaned against the wall. As you began to push yourself off your seat, hands darted out to push you down, but you slapped them away. The servants gasped at the contact, but you really didn't care.

"Where are you going?" they asked. You scoffed, getting up and maneuvering yourself onto your crutches. "If you need to go to the restroom, you could just ask-"

"That will be unnecessary," you said, mirroring Hikaru's words from earlier. "I'm not going to the restroom. I'm _leaving."_

The curiosity on their faces disappeared in a flash, only to be replaced with malice. "What?"

"I thought maybe I could handle this... your spoiled life style," you gritted out, anger still fresh as if you had been slapped, "but I can't. I was wrong to accept your generosity without thinking. I can't deal with this pampered lifestyle."

You took a few solid steps, ignoring the hunger in your stomach. Their expressions were that of a wounded animal, staring up at your expectantly with mixed negative emotions to define their taut features.

"You speak like rich people rule the world, like the rest of us _common folk," _you spat the words, "are ants at your shoes that you can't _help _but step on. That it's _our fault _that we're not as well-off as you, but whether it is our not, you still don't have a right to treat us the way you do." You continued walking refusing to look back at this point. "I sympathize for your servants; not for the so called _commoner life _they lead, but for the sole fact that they have to deal with your spoiled brats like you two. Go marry some rich duchess and make little rich, babies, and forever continue this stupid cycle, you useless jerks."

You arrived at the door, reaching a hand out only to hear loud stomping behind you. As soon as you flipped the locks open, their hands slammed down onto the double doors, faces dangerously close to yours as they spoke.

"Your leg is still hurt," one of them said. You identified the voice as Kaoru's, only to scoff at his ironic words.

Thankfully, their hands on the door weren't strong as you pulled them open, not having enough time to be surprised at the ease they gave.

"My leg isn't the only thing that's hurt anymore," you admonished. You crutched away, as fast as you was able to, wishing you had full mobility of both legs so you could run out their gate with all your anger and dignity.

**-X-**

"Young masters, should we send a car out to meet Mr. Tagara at the entrance?"

"No," Kaoru said, eyes still lingering on your form as you leisurely made your way down the walkway. Despite the handicap of your leg, and the supposed pain of your armpits from the crutches, you were still going strong and clambering away from them. "He wouldn't accept it anyway."

"What an idiot." Hikari whipped around and crashed onto the closest chair. "He could have at least helped us eat all this food before he stormed off."

"But that wouldn't be very Kyo-like, would it?" Kaoru finished, letting out a sigh as he joined his brother.

"Young masters, should we reheat the food now?" one servant suggested meekly. If they had the amount of bombs as they did food on the table, they would probably blow a gaping hole into the earth.

"I'm not hungry anymore, Hikaru," Kaoru said hesitantly.

"Neither am I, Kaoru," Hikaru muttered. He referenced back to your scolding words, piercing their pride like poisoned arrows. "Well, we can't throw out the food after what he said, now can we?"

Kaoru stared back at his twin, face frowning and disoriented, reflecting himself like a mirror. "I guess. What do you suppose we do with it, then, brother?"

**-X-**

Your armpits were the sorest they had ever been. How did people on crutches put up with this _all day long? _You hadn't even been walking for half an hour, and yet the stupid contraptions had you cringing in pain before you managed to reach the Hitachiin's main gate. _So much for a successful haughty exit like the movies, _you grumbled in your mind.

A nearby engine rev caught your attention from behind you, making you almost leap in your spot if not for your bad leg. You snuck a brief glance back, straining your neck, hoping that you wouldn't catch sight of a long limousine behind you.

You blinked at the black sedan cruising its way toward you, but despite its small size compared to a stretch limo, you were no fool. That was a _Rolls Royce Phantom_, a luxurious saloon type limousine meant for 4 people including the chauffeur. As you were about to look straight again, a window began to roll down and the car slowed to a stop next to. But not before you caught the sight of orange-brown hair and let out a scowl of pure frustration. Hikari took shotgun while Kaoru took the right backseat, but they were both at the side closest to you, gazing at you intently.

"Fancy meeting you here. What are you doing outside our estate, Tagara Kyo-san?" Kaoru quipped, sending you a smirk. You couldn't help but catch the apologetic, soft tone Kaoru used in his jest, but it did close to nothing for your grief with them. You struggled with something to say back to them, knowing they'd only pester you if you went sulking off.

"Aren't you two supposed to be eating?" _That sounded a lot better in my head..._

Their mischievous smirks faltered slightly. "We lost our appetite."

It was nearly impossible to hide the disdain on your face. _So they threw everything out, of course! There's no way they would refrigerate it to reheat for another day. Stupid, spoiled—_

"We didn't throw it all out!" interrupted your scornful thoughts. You adjusted the crutches under your arm and raised an accusing brow at Kaoru, who had spoken.

"Oh really? But I thought that was what rich kids like you did! You know, make more than you need, since having too much is better than not having enough," you spat back, repeating their words to them and watching their expressions change to annoyance. "So if you didn't throw it out, what'd you do? Feed it all to the guard dogs you keep in the back of your billion yen mansion?"

"We let the workers eat it, along with the chefs and the drivers. Bastien insisted that he wasn't hungry." Your eyes wandered over to the driver, who politely leaned over slightly to give you a nod. You couldn't help but smile back at Bastien, who really was such a sweet old man.

"I... I suppose that's nice of you two," you reluctantly ground out. It was more than you'd expect from a pair of snobs, but still not enough to douse your aggravation with them. "Thanks for letting me know." You gave a nod and rotated back around to continue walking, but the car inched forward.

"Wait! Kyo!" Your first name: _Why _always your first name, and especially when you were angry with them, just-! UGH!

"I don't know what else you want from me: compensation for letting me stay the night? Are you going to insist I stay as a mai-... butler and serve you guys tea to work off this favor you've given me?"

They blinked at you, and it was Kaoru who spoke first again, being closer to the window. His tone was harsher than before, clearly indicating his diminishing patience. "We're apparently supposed to be the spoiled ones, but why is it always about _money_ with _you?"_

"You don't trust us at all," Hikaru reprimanded, and you let out a hearty 'Ha!'

"And what reason have you given me to trust you?"

"We let you stay for the night and even—" Now, they were angry. Hikaru hissed the words, "Do you have to be like this? We're not heartless enough to pick on someone who can't even walk properly, especially since it's our fau-..."

You didn't miss a beat. "Since it's your _what?"_

"Nothing," they both answered, much too quickly.

Your eyes narrowed to slits. "... Since it's your..." You had caught loosely on the starting letter 'f'. "..._Fault? _Since it's your fault? What? That Kentaro or whatever guy made my leg like this, not _you two_...?" your voice travelled upwards, forming the statement into a question.

"...Sure."

"What do you mean, 'sure'?" you shouted, unexpectedly more livid than before. "What do you have to with Kentaro?"

"For the last time, it's _Kenji!" _Kaoru's eyes bore right into yours. "And we have nothing to do with him!"

But you weren't going down. "Then finish the statement. Especially since it's your _what?"_

It was the first time in their lives the twins had been demanded to do something, with the rare exception of their parents. But there was the hardness in your tone that told them you weren't leaving with a proper answer, and there was the guilt they felt that kept them from directing Bastien to drive them back to the garage. Haruhi never treated them like this: like children. Even Tamaki, the leader of the Host Club, refrained from ordering the twins in such a manner. Out of the blue, the Hitachiin brothers were being asked whether or not they stole the cookies from the cookie jar, which they did steal. But there was never someone to call them out on it, especially not while the twins were still in a position of power.

But here you were, calling them out on their words and beating them at their own game.

All of the sudden, they were reminded of why they couldn't stand you.

"Just answer this." They glanced up at your voice: soft, as if you had given up. "Were you going to finish the statement with 'fault'? Is that what you were going to say? That it was your fault?"

Shamefully, they confessed, "Yes."

You nodded slowly, eyes cast downward. "Okay, I think I know, then. You guys can go back. I don't need you guys helping me out just to soothe your guilty conscience."

It was Hikaru who spoke. "Just get in the car, Tagara. Stop being stubborn. The closest busy street from here is more than twenty blocks away. It's not like you have a cell-phone, or any money on you either."

"That's _my _problem."

You could hear the frown on Kaoru's face. "Come on. We're not going to leave until you get in the car."

"I beg to differ. It's not like you both haven't done it before: leaving me when I needed help."

They winced; so you knew. "...Kyo—"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad. I had a weird feeling that you guys had followed me, and it's not like you guys would have known I was going to get myself into trouble. Whether or not you had left, I probably still would've... Well, maybe not. I guess I would be walking on two legs, then. But it's just a broken leg, not an amputation or anything. I'll be better eventually. No need to feel bad."

They were quiet, not knowing what to say. You had a tendency to do that to them: deeming them speechless. Perhaps you just had a way with your words, they didn't quite know.

"Where do you plan to go?" one of them said. You didn't care who it was, but once again, you could tell that it was Kaoru. He always had a gentler tone, a slightly different tone to his voice than Hikaru.

"It's not really any of your business, but you're right. I don't have a cell phone," You halted your steps. "I only have a handful of living relatives, only one of which is in Japan. I'm going to visit her and see if I can spend the night at hers. Is that acceptable, young masters?"

They frowned at your sarcastic 'young masters', and that was your cue to smugly turn around and be on your way again.

The sound of car doors opening alerted your senses, and before you could get an audible word out, you were swept off your feet quite literally.

"WHA—Down! Put me down! You stupid, owwuu..." You winced at the pain of moving your foot, since it was only bandaged, not casted. "You... NO!"

You gripped onto the ledge of the car, pushing against the vehicle. Hikaru frowned. "Kaoru!"

"Got him!" Your legs were grabbed from Kaoru stretching in from the other door. He firmly held down your legs as Hikaru shoved the rest of your body in. When he closed the door, Kaoru held your tight as to not allow you to escape, and Hikari took his seat up front.

"Bastien, lock the doors from the inside!" Bastien complied, and with a firm clicking noise, Kaoru let go. You grabbed the handle of the door and tugged three times, firmly.

You were really locked inside.

"Th-this is kidnapping! I'm going to sue you! I'm going to sue you for everything you own!" Hikaru scoffed, finally maneuvering himself into the car with your head on his lap.

"Yeah, good luck hiring a lawyer."

"I'll be able to hire the country's best after I _sue your sorry asses of every penny—"_

"Tagara," Kaoru spoke delicately, "please."

You knew your face was crimson with rage from the temperature of your cheeks and you tried your best to keep your composure despite fury blistering inside you. "Kaoru, Hikaru, _please. _All you do is hurt me. Why... Why couldn't we just be normal friends?"

They said after a long deliberation, "Haruhi."

Your face fell. "It's not even like we're dating, you—"

"We know that you don't like her."

"What?" The only face you could see up close was Kaoru's since there were only two seats in the back, but you could see Hikaru staring at you using the side mirrors. "Of course I like her!"

"Not as a lover, you don't."

"How would you know—" You blushed crimson just then, remembering your scrambled thoughts during Breakfast. But... they still hadn't outright asked you or called you on it, so maybe they didn't know at all! "I-If you know that... then why are you still like this?"

"We're helping you _now, _aren't we?"

"You call this helping? Are you spoiled _and _dumb, now?"

"We weren't kidding when we said the nearest busy street is twenty blocks away," Kaoru explained, tone even and more calm than his twin's. "We may have never been on crutches before, but we're smart enough to know that they hurt after a while."

The car eased over a speed bump with expertise, courtesy of Bastien's excellent driving. You shifted in your seat, still facing Kaoru and occasionally glancing at Hikaru through the mirror. The sudden lack of noise clearing your mind and relaxing you somewhat. The morning's events repeated like a movie in your mind and you slowly began to analyze their behavior as well as yours. When you caught Kaoru's concerned gaze on you, you bit your lip in embarrassment. "I..."

"We're already driving you, so just—"

"I'm sorry." Their blank looks made you blush, ducking your head lower. "Gosh, I... I'm not really angry anymore. When I think about it, it's not like you guys intentionally made me mad, so I shouldn't have stormed out so... aggh."

Scratching your dark tawny hair, you cleared your throat. "What I'm trying to say is... you guys have... treated me a lot better than you needed to. Even if it _was _out of guilt, to give me a place to stay, breakfast, a car ride... you're offering me a part of your lifestyle. So... gosh, how do I..?" You were so embarrassed with every word that came out. "I was wrong to shout at you both so harshly. I'm also sorry, Bastien-san, for letting you see that side of me."

He chortled and let out a soft grunt with a nod. You smiled, cheeks still stained with pink. "This is already the second time I'm doubting your good intentions, and I guess I just... haven't been having a really smooth time trying to get over the pretense that you're both out to get me, but really, can you blame me for being so paranoid?"

Hikaru snorted, but his tone was light and jesting. "Yes, we can."

"Hey, Hikaru, you jerk!" You leaned forward and immaturely put your hands over his eyes. He clawed at your hands to let go, but he was laughing too. Kaoru jumped in, tackling you from the left as he pressed down onto your sides. You squirmed under his tickling attacks and let go of his twin.

"S-Stop! K-K-Kaoru! Kaoru!" you pleaded, arms trying their best to pry him off, but that devilish grin was back on his face, easing the tight grip of your heart. But all of the sudden, his face fell and his expression was serious. You gasped out, "Wh-What's wrong?"

"I..." He let go of your sides swiftly, jumping back to his side of the car. You blinked before realizing how close the two of your had gotten without you knowing.

"Tagara," he muttered, eyes trained on you, "how did you know I was Kaoru?"

"What?" you quipped.

Hikaru had twisted around to face you, and Kaoru's face remained a look of horror.

"Are you trying to tell me that people usually can't tell you apart?"

They were silent. You blinked. "Wait, are you serious? Yes, you're twin's, but how on earth could they confuse you two?"

They could have looked less horrified if you had told them you were their long, lost twin sister.

"...You're serious." Leaning forward, you addressed their chauffeur. "Bastien-san, can't _you _tell them apart?"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Tagara. Once in a while, I maybe lucky enough to spot a subtle difference," he answered professionally. You shrunk back into your seat.

"I wouldn't be surprised if some people couldn't, but... well, I can't be the only one, right?"

"Haruhi," they both answered in unison. You nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's to be expected. Who else?"

They were silent. You blinked. "YOU'RE _KIDDING! _Stop lying!"

"Excuse me," Bastien interrupted, "but I need to know where you're going, Mr. Tagara, if I'm to drive you there."

You grasped for your thoughts, a bit lost in your mind at the moment. "Oh, uh, yes. Would you happen to know where Kiraku Retirement Homes are, Bastien-san?"

He chuckled, "Why yes. It's only a few blocks away from where we are now."

"Perfect!"

"Retirement home?" the twins repeated in question, temporarily distracted from their previous interest.

"Yes. There's a reason I'm living alone, you know. Technically, it's not legal for someone my age to be staying at home all by themselves, so how'd you think I got away with it?"

"... I thought you lived in that disgusting—" Hikaru began, but you cut him off.

"I do, but in documents, I'm living with my grandma. It's not convenient for her to walk up and down stairs, though, and we can't afford a new place, so she stays in the retirement home. I visit once in a while and go there for any documents or forms I need signed by my guardian."

Kaoru breathed, "Wow."

You held back a snort and settled for a scoff instead. "Poor people have it so rough, don't they, young masters?"

**-X-**

"P-People live here, Kaoru!"

"I-impossible, Hikaru!"

"I guess I can't expect you guys to change in a day, but so much for variety in your act. Still, it's an improvement from your reactions to _my _building," you mumbled, heaving a sigh. Giving Bastien a wave, he drove off to find suitable parking. "Remind me again why you guys are following me out here? Just so you know, there _is _an elevator here. I'm not going to crawl up the stairs like _The Grudge _or something."

Hikaru sniffed disdainfully at the air, ignoring your question. "What's that smell?"

"Old people," you retorted, pressing the elevator button.

Kaoru grimaced. "Bastien doesn't smell like this."

"Well then, lucky Bastien-san, and lucky you two." You rolled your eyes. "Answer the question!"

"What question?" Kaoru ventured playfully. You glowered, earning a chuckle from him. "We got here too fast for us to continue our discussion. We're not leaving until you answer _us."_

"Eh? What discussion?" you bantered, matching your tone of voice with Kaoru's. He glowered back.

"Obviously about _how you can tell us apart," _Hikaru finished, not noticing anything weird as he stared at the bright numbers counting down to ground floor. "Why is this thing so slow?"

"This isn't some five star hotel," you advised. "Besides, if it went too fast, the old people inside might get a heart attack... or something bad like that."

"Yes, something 'bad like that'," Hikaru teased at your immature wording, making you flush.

"Shut up, Hikaru."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT I'M HIKARU?" erupted just as "HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT HE'S HIKARU?" did.

"Sssh!" the woman at the desk shushed, pointing at the sign on the wall that read, 'SSSHH! Please refrain from shouting or raising your voice inside the open areas of the building. Be respectful of those around you. Thank you!'

You stifled a laugh. "Smooth, Hitachiins."

"Shut up, Kyo." You broke out into a grin. Heck, they might irritate you to the ends of the earth, but for a brief moment, you couldn't help but speculate on how you could get used to bantering with them like this, as long as it stayed light-hearted.

The elevator dinged and you crutched over to the side as the doors opened and two elderly folk waddled out slowly, speaking some old dialect of Japanese you didn't quite understand completely. You got into the elevator with Hikaru and Kaoru at your side as you swiftly pressed for the sixth floor.

Kaoru's nose wrinkled. "What is that smell?"

Hikaru hummed. "Old people."

"Pfft." They stared at you in bewilderment as you let out a chuckle. "You guys are so... wow."

"And I suppose 'wow' is a bad thing," Hikaru muttered as him and his twin scowled. You shrugged your shoulders, a gesture that you rarely used in this foreign country since not many people knew what it meant.

"Only if you want it to be."

Kaoru looked like a sulking little kid. "What do you mean by that?"

"WHY THE HELL IS THIS ELEVATOR SO FREAKING SLOW?" Hikaru exploded randomly.

Again, you doubled over laughing. "The two of you can't be quiet for five seconds!"

Faint elevator music answered you. You cracked open your eyes and waited, but there was no answer. "Guys?"

"Eat your words. That was five seconds." They both high-fived each other above your head. You let out a grin. Really, when they weren't making your life a mess, they weren't so bad.

The doors of the elevator glided open and you crutched out.

"Room 1607," you recited quietly to yourself, arriving at the door promptly to knock. "Gran! Gran, it's me, Kyom... Your grand..." You paled. You had completely forgotten that your grandmother was going to refer to you as her grand_daughter _and Kyo_mi._

How completely and utterly _stupid _of you.

"Uh..." you stammered. "How about you both wait downstairs?"

"And wait for that elevator again?" Kaoru crossed his arms.

"How about _no?" _Hikari finished, shivering at the thought of the slow elevator.

"A-Atleast let me make sure the place is uh... clean!" They raised their eyebrows at you. "I mean, when people get older, sometimes they lose control of their bladder, and I wouldn't want you—"

"We'll wait outside for a while!" Smiling at your victory, you rapped on the door louder. Your grandmother usually called you 'dear' or some pet name instead of Kyomi, but you didn't take it upon her to always be consistent with these things. The least you could do is warn her about it so she'd know not to.

"Granny!"

"I heard you the first time, dear!" came the raspy voice. Thank the heavens she hadn't said your name right then and there. The door creaked open, and she squinted her eyes at you. "I was just washing some dishes. Ahh, it's so nice to- you're on crutches, dear! What on earth happened?" Her gaze darted over to the twins staring at her blankly. "Did you bring guests, Kyom-?"

"YES! GUESTS! But I should go in first, you know, Gran?" Your eyes darted apologetically to the twins as you maneuvered yourself inside. "It'll just be a second. Come on, Gran!"

"...Of course, dear." The door closed swiftly behind her and you hobbled in. Looking at your grandmother now, you could tell that she was just as healthy as the last time you had seen her. Old age was generous in her favor, and despite the silver wisps invading her scalp, you could still identify the prominent color of a creamy dark brown stained with hints of vermillion: a hair color you enduringly wished you would have as you grew older, instead of the significantly red tinge you had on brown tresses. She was a plump woman, but no one would ever dare call her fat. You had seen pictures of your grandmother as a young adult and you could only wish to look like that in your twenties, though you knew the weird harmony of genes you had inherited would probably do you little to no justice in the appearance department. Even as wrinkles covered her face and body, one could still catch a glimpse of the fiery young woman she used to be – only to have transformed into a fiery senior. Her eyes, a brilliant ember, shone much differently than yours, sparked with liveliness and vigor.

Age had never taken away her beauty. It merely alleviated it.

"Gran, I have to tell you something really important," you blurted, mustering up all your courage and hoping she wouldn't make things difficult for you. She tended to do voluntarily to mess with you sometimes.

Her eyes narrowed at your words. "You're jumpy today, dearest. What's wrong? Are those two boys bullying you? Did they make your leg like this, and are doing community service to —"

You held back a scorn. "Gran! They're just classmates. It's a really long story, and I don't really have time to tell you everything, but the –"

"And why are you using masculine speech?"

"I— Gran, I need you to pretend I'm your grandson."

She blinked: once, then twice, before raising her brows at you. "I see. What should I call you? Kyo?"

What did she 'see'? And why wasn't she being as difficult as you thought she would be? As old as your grandmother was, she was not an old woman you (or _anyone) _wanted to mess with. At her old age, she still retained her mouth of snappy words (which she always insists that you didn't inherit enough of), and her attention to detail was astounding – something you _did _luckily inherit.

"Yes, actually. Kyo would be really good. And what exactly do you mean by 'I see'—"

"It's rude to leave your guests waiting outside, dear." In an instant of your slow reaction time and incapability of grasping her intentions, she pulled opened the door and beckoned the twins in. "Come in, boys."

"H-Hai, grandmother!" they acknowledged. Hikaru and Kaoru slowly trudged into the room, eyes eyeing the simple, neutral-colored décor and sniffing the air for any... incontinent. You stifled a laugh when they glanced at you for reassurance.

"I didn't soil myself, boys. You can stop sniffing." They stiffened at her casual words and scurried next to you. You smiled as your grandmother prepared some tea in her small kitchen. "Sit yourself down, boys. Dear, quickly take a seat yourself; I don't need your help with the tea."

Sitting down on the comfy couch, you were about to move over when Hikaru and Kaoru plopped down on either side, sandwiching you.

"So what are you fine boys doing with my grandson? You don't particularly look like the type to request a retirement home visit," came your grandmother's voice from the kitchen area. You smiled in victory when she played along with your request.

"We have some... unfinished business with him," Kaoru replied forcefully, as if choosing his words carefully.

"Is that so? You're all friends, I presume?" She was quick, already coming out the kitchen with the tray of tea and cups. She began pouring with expertise, a drop never landing on any surface but the inside of the cups.

"That's one way to put it," you replied casually, flashing them a grin. They scoffed back, taking a sip out of their tea. Instead if wrinkling their faces and spitting it out, their faces remained indifferent before their features softened. Your grandmother always had really good quality tea. You took a sip yourself.

"We go to school together," Hikaru remarked.

"Yes, I heard. Classmates," your grandmother's tone clearly travelled lower to interrogation level. "That must be an adventure."

"One like you wouldn't believe, Gran." You rolled your eyes as the twins snickered. You grandmother leaned back from the tea and took a seat on her armchair. "Oh, and Haruhi goes to my school too!"

"Haruhi? Fujioka?" she repeated, nodding. Your grandmother was the mother of your father, but despite being related to Haruhi on your mother's side, your Gran still knew who she was. "She used to play with you all the time when you were little."

"Yeah," you confirmed, "Haruhi's awesome. She's making the school a lot more bearable."

"Mmm, that's good," she hummed. Obviously, she was holding back on what she wanted to ask you. "Dear, where are your manners? You haven't even introduced us."

You widened your eyes at your mistake, completely having forgot that they didn't know each other's names. Putting your tea down, you began, "Hikaru, Kaoru, this is my grandmother, Aiko Shiotani."

"You can just call me Gran, like Kyo does," she put in.

"Gran, this is Hikaru Hitachiin," you gestured to your left, "and Kaoru Hitachiin," you gestured to your right, "and in case you haven't noticed, ta-da! They're monozygotic Hitachiin twins!"

Your gran smiled wryly. "My, my, looks like you've given them quite a horror show, dearest."

You blinked, waving a hand in front of their shocked faces. "Hello?"

Hikaru blurted, "We switched our bangs this morning!"

"_And _while we were waiting outside!" Kaoru added.

"Well maybe I don't look at your bangs to tell you apart, geniuses!" You sighed. "Really, this is so stupid."

"Mmm," your grandmother hummed. "Maybe to us, but it's not the case for these two boys, dear. I have to admit, on appearance alone, they're very hard to differentiate."

"Appearance? Yeah, well, I guess that's true." You blinked, suddenly aware of the judgmental golden eyes on you. "What?"

"How do you do it?" they pressed, leaning in towards you. You frowned, using both arms to push them away from you.

"I'm not in the mood for talking about that right now! Let's not waste my grandmother's time, yes?"

Your gran chortled. "Why don't you tell me about how you injured your foot, dear?"

So to get away from the twin's prying, you began to tell her everything: the karaoke invasion session, being on the wide screen and being thoroughly embarrassed and furious; Kyouya offering the invitation to the amusement park, and then you illustrated the main string of events that led your foot to being in the cast. When you were done, your grandmother looked incredibly amused, almost as if the whole thing was her plan and she was glad it all worked out fine. It was so like her to find entertainment in these kinds of things...

"So what have you learned, dear?"

You blushed. "Um... don't mess with rich snobs who sexually harass pretty girls?"

"No," she said sternly, "I'm very proud of you for standing up for her, but don't you remember what I told you?"

You blinked.

"When the time comes, you've got to fight dirty. Something tells me that you didn't try to aim for his package even _once."_

_"Gran! _It was supposed to be an honorable fight between two guys—"

"It stopped being honorable when you got your face whooped, darling. Your face may have healed up, but I can see the swelling and bruise. A scumbag like that doesn't deserve to fight honorably."

"... Well, I thought going for his nuts would still be unfair, since he didn't go for mine."

"Honey, you don't have any b—"

"OKAY, I'LL GOT FOR THE PLACE WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE NEXT TIME, GRAN! Let's drop it!" you exclaimed, face red. Of course, she wanted to say 'you don't have any balls', which would mean something entirely different to you and the twins. The twins would take it as your grandmother pretty much calling you wimpy, but you knew that wasn't all she implied with her contexts.

Her eyes relaxed, suddenly. "I'm glad you came to visit me, dearest. I'll try to phone tonight. That will be okay, won't it? We haven't caught up in a very long while."

You nodded awkwardly, smiling. You and your grandmother didn't see each other much, since with your escapades to find jobs, keeping up your grades for your scholarship, along with overall studying for tests and the host club to deal with, you didn't have that much time to visit. You mostly resorted to phone calls, but even those had become scarce after...

You had somewhat rejected her, as well as everybody else, subsequent to your mother's death.

"Oh, but the house phone won't really... um..." You tried to find the appropriate words. The twins had caught on immediately, letting out devilish grins of their own.

"Actually, Kyo will be staying us for the time being," Hikaru explained, but you smacked him hard on the head, making him yelp out in pain.

"NO I'M NOT!" Your grandmother looked liked she was watching another one of her Asian dramas. "I'm not, Gran! Well... they let me stay for one night, but that's all! I'm going to go back home—"

She leered. "That's great, don't you think? That these two gentlemen are letting you stay over. I was beginning to wonder how on earth you could climb all those stairs with a nasty injury like that."

"G-Gran, you know how I am with favors," you blurted, knowing that if you Gran took the Twins' side, you were severely screwed. "They're filthy rich! They have an estate, and a chauffeur, and limousines, and servants a-and guest rooms bigger than my living room! I can't ever pay them back, Gran!"

"We never once asked Kyo to pay us back. We're offering everything free of charge," they vindicated. You frowned.

"That's even worse," your Gran opinionated, making you beam. "Of course Kyo has to pay you back! What kind of person do you think he is? A freeloader?"

You grinned brightly, nodding at the twins like a bobble head. "See! Gran knows what she's talking about."

"Seeing as she's already stayed one night at such a fancy place, that's equivalent to a month's worth of work."

"_Exactly _what she said- Wait, _what?" _Your nodding abruptly halted as you looked at her. The twins looked about as confused as you, however the corners of their lips were beginning to turn up.

"Yes, what was it that you said?" they purred, and suddenly horror dawned on you. You were wrong: oh-so wrong. Why had you suddenly thought that your grandmother would be on your side? Your grandmother never took sides for 'trivial reasons' like blood relation!

She took the side that offered a more interesting outcome!

Curse those stupid dramas she kept watching!

"What I mean is that it's obvious Kyo has no money to pay you guys back, so he has to work it off. It's perfect, isn't it? In exchange for living in your property, he has to work around the house."

"NO! Gran doesn't know what she's talking about—"

"Your parents didn't raise a freeloader," she snapped, eyes warning and glinting with mischief. "If you had any dignity, you wouldn't have ever agreed to even one minute in their house."

"Mansion," they corrected.

"Mansion," she apologized.

"I didn't get a choice! You don't understand, Gran, they kidnapped me! In fact, they even kidnapped me to give me a ride here, even when I said I didn't need to!"

"So you were really going to climb 18 flights of stairs," she drawled, "and walk all the way on foot?"

You turned bright red. "I would've figured something out—"

"Nonsense," she waved you away with a 'shoo'ing motion. "These two gentleman have been so gracious to you. Isn't it only protocol that you are indebt to them?"

"I can't believe this is happening to me," you muttered. "I'm not some main character in your dramas, Gran! And what about all the money put away for the apartment space that mom already paid for?"

"Simple. I'll withdraw you."

_"What?" _you sputtered, thoughts scrambled to oblivion. "I thought the money was already paid through contract, and thus untouchable!"

"That space was under my name the moment your mother left this world, dear, and the contract terminated," she explained gingerly. You gawked.

"If you had told me that earlier... I wouldn't have had to..."

"_Who_ was it that decided to ignore my calls and not visit for months on end?" You sucked in your lip at her accusatory tone. It was true, though. You had been much less than an obedient, caring grandchild to Aiko.

"I'm sorry, Gran. I didn't mean-... It was my fault for being so distant..." Your voice was a broken whisper. She got up and walked over to pull you into a hug.

"Hush, child. Your friends are still here. We'll save this conversation for another day," she cooed. The words that came next, you figured, were not addressed to you as her throat vibrated against your shoulder blade. "You two, Hitachiin brothers. Are you willing to take care of my grandson until he's better?"

"That was our intention from the beginning," they answered confidently. You sucked in a breath. Why were they being so understanding and ... _nice _about all this? It's one thing to give you assistance for a day or two, but until you were all healed? That would take at least a week!

"Then it's settled. Kyo, stay with these boys until your ankle is healed up, and when it is, just work it off. You can still cook or do whatever with your hands during this time; your parents didn't raise you to be a useless wife."

Your eyes widened to unbelievable proportions, but your grandmother only slapped you once on the back, _really _hard. "Oh, silly me! Husband, I meant!"

"Gran," you whispered through gritted teeth. If the twins didn't kill you off before your time, this woman certainly would.

You lamely hopped on one foot to turn around. "The doctor said it would take about two weeks to heal. I don't want to inconvenience you both for so-"

"This would be different if you weren't living alone, Kyo," Kaoru smiled. "But the fact is, that you are living alone. What might take two weeks to heal would take three, maybe four if you kept living the way you do."

You bit your lip, turning to your grandmother. "Can't I stay with you, Gran? It was kind of what I wanted to ask you..."

"This is a retirement home, dear. You know I can't, darling, but I would love to." You nodded glumly, but at least you had tried.

"Well, you said you were going to withdraw the money from the apartment space, so... I could technically..." You were going to say 'live with Haruhi and her father', but you knew that was impossible. Even if you could pay for it, Haruhi walked to school everyday, just like you did. Plus, she also had stairs of her own, and you doubted she had any open rooms for you. The main issue was getting to school, and you gulped.

"You really, _really _wouldn't mind? I'd be so intrusive, and I already know that you both don't really like me—"

"Tagara," Kaoru intercepted, "We're welcoming you into our company. What more do you want us to say?"

At his generous words, you couldn't help but let out a smile and awkwardly nod. "I-I guess you're right..."

"Then it's settled," Aiko sealed the deal smugly, clapping her hands. "Now if you'll all excuse me, I have a lunch appointment in an hour and I must be getting ready."

You raised an unconvinced brow at her, but she ignored your suspicious looks. "It's been a pleasure meeting you both, Hitachiin brothers. Please do look after my grand...son."

There was nothing more to say as she handed you your crutches and ushered you to the door, guiding the twins out behind you politely. "Take care, Kyomi."

You turned bright red, throwing her a warning glance. "I will, _Grandmother."_

You mouthed, _'Thanks a lot!"_

She simpered at your sarcasm before mouthing back a clever, _'Anytime, dear.'_

**-X-**

"Did your grandmother call you _Kyomi _when we left?"

"No," you replied, a little too quickly. "Or... m-maybe. She likes giving me those girly pet names, you know. Dear, darling, honey: old people stuff."

Kaoru made a noncommittal sound and left it at that. The elevator doors finally opened, and a line of six elderly trudged out. You hopped in without much trouble and spun around to face the front. The twins got in on either side of you.

"So..." Hikaru began.

"So," you answered.

"Back to our unfinished business," he reminded. You rolled your eyes: how very 'Hikaru' of him. "How do you tell us apart?"

"Is it really that important? Why don't you just ask Haruhi?"

"We have," Kaoru bristled. "We didn't like her answer."

You nodded. "You probably won't like mine, either."

"Yeah, we probably won't."

"Then why are you so nosy about it?" you countered in feign aggravation.

"Just let us hear it, Kyo," Hikaru pressed.

"How do know which one of us is which?" Kaoru finished, eyes locked with yours.

"This is stupid, you know that?"

Kaoru shrugged, smirking. "So we've heard."

"I've seen turtles mate faster than this elevator." At Hikaru's words, you burst out laughing.

The elevator finally 'ding'ed open and the doors slid upon. You crutched out and made your way over to Bastien, who had been called out by Hikaru earlier. You all took your respective seats in the car, with a twin on your left and one in front, glancing at you through the side window.

"Spill, Tagara," the one at your side growled.

For a pair of twins who had bothered you so persistently for the answer, you knew that coming up with an acceptable response would be no easy feat over them. Was it possible that other than Haruhi, you were truthfully the only other person able to tell them apart? What about their parents?

You faintly referenced back to your first car ride to their estate.

_"Our parents," they clarified, expressions unreadable and solemn. "They're rarely home."_

You pursed your lips. "Do you really want to hear this? Like I said, you probably won't like it."

The twin in front of you let out a noncommittal sound again. "Better than nothing."

You heaved a sigh, shifting in your seat. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Clearing your throat dramatically, you got comfy, finding the starting words in your mind. As much as you claimed for it to be stupid, the seemed genuinely intrigued about your thoughts, maybe because they didn't usually get to hear the opinion of someone who could tell them apart. In fact, that was very likely the case.

Swallowing a wad of saliva, you began. "You guys are two distinctive people. You both live under this illusion that you guys are two, inseparable beings. Even when you reply to me, neither of you speaks for yourself. You speak as the two of you. It's 'we' this, 'we' that, but unless I have one of you by yourself, I've never heard you guys answer in a way that represents one, independent person."

"Rather than ask me why I can tell you apart, you should ask yourself why others can't. It's not that they don't 'try hard enough', or they just don't 'understand' you. The two of you don't give them a chance in the first place. You guys have never _wanted _to be told apart, have you? Because if you did, wouldn't you try harder to be different then each other? I don't get it. Instead of going out of your way to be different from one another, you try so hard to be identical, and yet you complain! It's not that everyone else is doing a bad job, Hikaru, Kaoru. It's that you both are doing too good of a job to make it difficult for everyone else, don't you think?"

You stared forward, not meeting the eyes of either twin. "I don't know everything about you two, but I know enough to say that I've already learned all that _solely _from what I've observed. But to actually answer your question, here it is..."

You ran a hand through your bangs that were falling forward and prickling your eyes. "It's nowhere near as complicated as you think it is. I know that _you're _Hikaru because you're Hikaru," you looked straight at the twin sitting left of you, "and I know that _you're _Kaoru because you're Kaoru!" you said, covering the eyes of the twin in front of you, but letting go immediately. "Something as elementary as switching car seats won't fool me, guys. I'm sad to say that you're both losing your touch."

They scoffed and looked away from you, exactly in sync so that it sounded like one scoff coming from two different directions. You broke out into a smile, leaning back cozily in your leather seat. "If you wanted a list of what makes you both unique form one another, then just ask, but it's as stupid as asking me how two different shades of red are different, and frankly, I'm not color blind. That is my answer."

"You talk too much," Kaoru whispered after a long silence. Hikaru made a quiet noise in agreement.

When you looked up to meet their expressions, neither of them was facing your direction. Their eyes evaded yours, and they faced away from you to hide their features. A bit disappointed with their negative reaction, you licked your lips and looked out the window.

"I guess I do," you breathed tenderly, "but I meant everything I said. I think I owe it to you both to know the truth, since you guys asked for it so faithfully."

Hikaru's eyes slithered to check if you were looking. Busy staring at out the window with a moping face, his eyes then wandered to find his twin in the front seat. Kaoru turned his head to look at his older twin, their eyes conveying a similar message.

"Thank you." You blinked at the harmonizing voices and snapped your head to look at them both. Kaoru had twisted around in his seat to face you, while Hikaru's golden orbs locked tentatively on you.

Others might have taken that expression of gratitude as thanks for telling the truth, or thanks for sharing their opinion. Hikaru and Kaoru wouldn't thank someone for trifling reasons as those. Their thank you held a different message. At first, you thought maybe you were just too hopeful, and were hastily misreading the smirk on their faces, but there was no other explanation for the way they were staring you down with such reverence.

For a pair of twins who had bothered you so persistently for the answer, you knew that coming up with an acceptable response had been no easy feat over them.

Touched, with a hint of fluster, you grinned vibrantly.

Softly, you let them know that they were very welcome.

**End of Chapter Seven.**

**-X-**

Longest chapter I've written in a looong while. I considered splitting it in half, but really, I didn't want to. LOL. 10000+ words. I tried my best to crop scenes and description out, because this is simply MASSIVE.

The more intense 'action' will eventually start. Kyomi's already got herself stuck at the Hitachiin Estate for a while longer. What adventure lies~?

Summer break is coming to an end so updates will without a doubt, be coming at a more irregular rate, but never forget to check the priority listings to see when I'll update this~ And don't forget to alert!

**If you've got some time on your hands, or if you just want me to UPDATE SOONER, why not leave a review? (:  
**_September 1st, 2011: A poll is currently up at the top of my profile FOR THIS STORY. So gogogo and vote for which twin, please (: _


	8. Flicker, Flicker ::08::

So... I know it's been 5 months since I last updated. My sincere bad. I got caught up in digital art again, so I had to share my break practicing up on my proportions, clothing folds, etc. ): I know it's not a very good 'excuse', but I didn't spend the entire time partying. I hope you guys will respect that I also have accounts on other places, like devianart, and I'd like to update there, too, and that's ON TOP of whatever real life events I'm having xD

With that being said, I am pleased to present you your chapter!

Note: The poll has been taken down, only because I can only allow one poll at a time on my profile and I need fast results for my Death note Fic. But don't worry, the poll for this/votes are still going on. Though it's... kinda obvious what will win... *cough you indecisive fangirls*

**-X-**

**Chapter Eight: Flicker, Flicker**

**-X-**

_I, _you recited inwardly, walking over to the dresser, _am Tagara Kyomi._

_It is currently Monday morning, six thirty two in the morning. I have school today, so there's _that, _and... Oh gosh, riding to school in a limousine! But with the twins... so there's _that.

You hopped to the dresser and pulled out a new t-shirt and pants. After your visit to your grandmother yesterday, Kaoru and Hikaru drove you home so you could pack for the rest of the week. You tried not to think about the painful – not to mention absolutely _humiliating – _experience of riding on their back up 18 floors, and how grateful you were that they didn't remark about your weight. They had been a bit too pre-occupied with the mysterious stains and odors of the cement staircases. To make things worse, you couldn't let them inside after all their hard work, because the fireplace and shelves contained family pictures of you and your parents.

With your younger self in dresses, long hair, and other pink, frilly galore.

Other than some disapproving whines, they had stayed quiet and endured the unsanitary staircase. While packing, you could hear several girlish squeals, as well as a very audible, "WHAT_ IS_ THAT, KAORU?" "IT'S UGLIER THAN—...IT'S _UGLY_, HIKARU!"

You had shrugged, but made a mental note to hurry up. Spoiled kids will be spoiled.

Back in your temporary room, you made sure to lock your door as your put on a sports bra, ignoring the fact that you didn't need chest binds to pull off being a boy... Ahem, changing the topic...

You ran through another set of current events. _I am not in my bedroom, or in my house. I have stayed two nights over at the Hitachiin Estate, with the permission of Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, despite having no input or permission from their parents... maybe I should—oh whatever._

You pulled on your pants with a bit of difficult over your cast and folded your pajamas neatly to the side, not wanting your rather messy habits to take away from the expensive scenery of the room. Finally taking your crutches under the arms, you were ready to go.

_Most importantly, both Hikaru and Kaoru still think I'm a boy. _You nodded to yourself, a hand on the knob, ready to leave your safety net.

_Let's try to keep it that way, Kyomi._

Servants met you immediately upon departing your room, and you uttered a chain of good mornings and began your bows. They all gave you strange looks, and you blushed. Bowing to servants must have never happened before in the house, and they must have been judging you so badly! Talk about low-class! You didn't decline as they took your crutches from you, but you argued that you were fine with hopping down the stair by yourself. You would hop _any day _over being carried...

"Already turning red so early in the morning, Tagara?" You met the knowing eyes of Hikaru, seated beside a smirking Kaoru. You frowned, reaching the bottom of the stairs. The boy handed you your crutches and you thanked him sincerely before countering.

"Already making fun of me so early in the morning, Hitachiins?" They shrugged, their way of claiming they couldn't help it. You scoffed, and crutched to the breakfast table, eyes beginning to widen. The twins had already started eating without you, but you hadn't had time to feel offended.

Three sets of omelets, already slightly eaten off of, a glass of milk, some bacon, and buttered bread sat daintily on the table, giving you innocent little waves. You blinked.

"... That's it?"

"What do you mean 'that's it'?" Hikaru replied, continuing to cut a piece of his omelet off and stuff into his mouth.

"Did you want more? We don't have that much an appetite to begin with, and we didn't know if you were the type to ask for more... Is this amount not generous enough for your pamper?" Kaoru raised a teasing brow. You held back the urge to blush.

"I just... Well, compared to yesterday, this is... nothing!" You quickly added, "Obviously it's enough. It's still more than enough. I don't even usually eat... a quarter of..."

"You should eat before it gets cold." Hikaru slurped noisily at his milk, childishly leaving a milk mustache on his upper lip. His twin did the same, and they both looked at each other to snicker before licking it off.

You slowly eased your crutches against the table and collapsed in your seat.

"It's been a long time since we ate breakfast at this table," Kaoru remarked, sneaking a glance at you, which you weren't entirely sure if you were supposed to catch. You blinked.

"It's been a while since we even ate _at this table,_" Hikaru added, and Kaoru nodded in agreement. You blinked.

"What?" Hikaru blurted, feigning boredom. "Do you have something..."

"...that you want to say?" Kaoru finished, expression mirroring his brother's identically.

"Is this really okay?" you asked, voice quiet and shy. "For me to... after treating you like that yesterday... to still be eating the food that..."

"You're really annoying, Tagara." You gazed up meekly. Their gazes were soft, filled with something you hadn't been sure they possessed; yet there was still a genuine hint of frustration in their tone. "One moment, you're raging at us, the other moment you're pulling this girly act of feeling bad. Make up your mind."

"I-Itadakimasu*... I guess..." They accepted your gratitude and began to eat, entirely in sync.

The servants were staring at you brightly, lips lifting into genuine smiles; not just there because they had to appear happy. They bowed, as if they were required to when making eye contact with you. You blushed, and gave them a reverent nod back.

The twins broke out into another grin at your display. Couldn't get past yourself to just accept the fact that the servants were bowing to you out of obligation, not because of actually respect. How naïve you were.

"Thank you." They watched you pick up your eating utensils and begin cutting the omelet. You looked so content, so _happy _just then, like all your worries were just swept away and life was clever and dandy. They blinked. You muttered something; something they couldn't hear, but only make out some end words.

_"... really can change..."_

You snuck a look at them, and they stiffened upon catching your eyes. Suddenly, their breakfast was a lot more interesting than you and they avoided your direction for the entirety of breakfast. It was funny how things reversed so quickly with these two. You really couldn't figure them out.

**-X-**

"T-Tagara-kun rode to school with the twins?"

"Look at his leg! What happened?"

"Tagara-kun, my father is Tokyo's best doctor! He can fix you up right away!"

You laughed sheepishly, waving away their generosity as humbly as you could, but you were unable to mask your awkwardness. It was simply too much attention. You weren't used to it yet. People used to walk past you without a second glance; maybe not even realize that you were breathing the same air as them.

"...sick." You gasped and looked up at Kaoru, who had spoken and caught you by surprise.

"What?" He bent down lower to your ear, triggering several very ear-splitting fangirl squeals. Oh, brother...

"You look sick. Is your leg doing fine?" You had almost forgotten about your leg injury in the midst of all the whispering and bold staring!

"Yeah, it's fine. It doesn't even hurt anymore. The cast is thick enough for me to walk on it if I want." Feeling a bit mischievous, you added, "thanks for caring about me."

He straightened, facial features hardening. "I was-!"

You laughed at his obvious attempt to deny. "I know, I know. I'm just messing."

"Let's get to class, Tagara," Hikaru yawned, and used his other head to mess your hair.

"Hey!" you bellowed, "What was that for?"

"For being a pipsqueak." Hikaru swiftly glided to his twin's side, a hand strategically placed under Kaoru's chin to turn his gaze upwards. "I'm leaving now, my Kaoru~"

"B-but Hikaru... Last night you spoke to me with such soft caresses, and now... and now we are forced apart so early?" Kaoru turned away from him, triggering a wave of fan girl squeal so intense, you would have thought a celebrity was exotically dancing on the courtyard or something...

"Kaoru... You know that it kills me just as much to be apart from you but... perhaps if I spend too much time with you... I won't be able to... help myself!"

"Oh Hikaru!"

"You're lucky I was born without too much of a gag reflex..." You shivered, not withholding your disgust whatsoever. The twins smirked, and finished up their act before splitting apart.

"Is it really that hard to separate? How much of that was an act of missing each other?"

Hikaru shrugged as you both descended down the hallways. "We're two halves of a whole. With just one, we only have half the fun."

"Half the fun, really," you rolled your eyes. "Oh, you _poor_ thing. How lonely and boring your life must be right now~"

"Ouch. Us 'rich kids' have feelings too!" It was the first time he had used your terminology to label himself. You smiled despite yourself, opening the door to woodworking. The class was still relatively empty, and the teachers didn't usually enter until the bell finally rung. You took a seat at your desks, and since you guys were assigned to be partners, you sat across from one another.

"Have you ever thought about the complications of... I don't know. Dating? Marriage? Or... " You drifted off, pretending that there was an imaginary 'et cetera' attached to the end of your statement.

"Sex?" Hikaru finished, just to spite you. You dropped your head, hiding your blush, and sighed.

"Yes. That too."

He leered, bobbing his head side to side. "_What _too?"

"...What you just said?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand what you're saying~"

"You're horrible. I'm not going to repeat it so answer the question." He burst out laughing, content with the fact that you were now as red as the red stains in your hair. He shrugged.

"We'll see when it happens." What kind of answer was that?

"Hasn't it already happened?" You heaved a sigh, trying to make sense of it all. "I mean, you both like the same person, right?"

His expression was hard, and his eyes piercing. For a second, your memory flashed back to a few weeks ago, when you had bumped into the twins while you were with Haruhi just outside a bubble-tea shop. They were already angry even before you approached them, but Hikaru was the one who had been absolutely ready to punch your lights out, while Kaoru stood in front of him and held him back. Now, as Hikaru stared at you with a stiff expression, you had the overwhelming urge to bring your arms up in a fighting stance in case he chose to strangle you, or worse...

"What are you talking about?" He broke your thoughts off, his voice contradicting your speculations. He didn't sound as angry as he just sounded... horrified. Confused, and _hurt, _as if you had just betrayed him.

"...Haruhi?" you whispered, inside shaky and unsure as to what answer he was expecting. The fog lifted. Hikaru calmed, eyes drooping as his shoulders visibly relaxed.

"Yeah. I guess."

"What do you mean-... Nevermind." The mood had been ruined. His body language and words already told you that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Understanding, and feeling rather offended, you fiddled with the angle your crutches leaned on the table at, wondering briefly about how you were going to attend Physical Education.

"Have you ever loved anyone other than yourself or your family before? " The question surprised you, as you were almost certain that, well... the conversation had ended. Hikaru looked torn. Maybe without his twin here, he felt even more lost than he looked. You considered the question, and leaned forward in your seat to rest your arms on the desk.

"Well... I don't know if it was love. I doubt it. But yeah, I've had my fair share of crushes." You watched his face to see if these words made an impact, or any sense. They didn't. "... What?"

"Did they go away eventually?" You coughed, hoping your cheeks weren't tinting in pink yet.

"Crushes will go away. Isn't it Love that stays?"

"So if it was a crush," His eyes glazed over, "it's normal for it to go away?"

"Obviously!" The clock hung just a few inches from the front door. Still three minutes until the first period bell would ring. "Are you sure I'm the right person to be talking about relationships with? I'm single. And also your love rival."

He snapped out of his trance, and snorted. "You admitted yourself that you don't love Haruhi as a lover."

"... When did I say that?"

"Yesterday in the car." He leaned forward, eyes intimidating and smile playful. "It's obvious what you are, Tagara."

You held your breath, but there was still something wrong about the way he was looking at you. It was... accepting, for lack of a better word. Not a big deal. Like he wasn't that surprised, and it didn't really matter...

"... So what am I?" He raised a brow and tilted his head.

"You want me to say it out loud?"

"Oh, sure, because I _hate _whispering," you spat sarcastically. "Obviously don't let the world know! I just don't want you getting any weird ideas... in case you're wrong..."

He looked skeptical, yet smug; he was obviously very convinced that he was correct. How hilarious it would be if he were wrong. How horrific it would be if he were right: because if he thought it was so obvious, then obviously the whole host club knew – maybe the entire school! – and who _knows _what people have said about you behind your back, and—

He leaned close, mouth closing the space between you and him. His breath tickled your ear as he whispered, and you pretended not to notice how nice his cologne smelled, or how close his face was to yours...

When he was done, he leaned back, but you looked away from him. If you had to look at his face, you were afraid you'd burst out laughing; you struggled to control your facial expression so that you wouldn't blow your cover.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if that's what you're thinking." _Oh god, my cheeks are going to explode! My stomach, my stomach, AHAHAHAH! _"

"R-really?" Hikaru frowned, adjusting in his seat. Your voice was shaky and unstable. Were you crying?

"I promise."

You kept your back turned from him for a few moment, doing who-knows-what. Hikaru waited patiently until you were ready. He was feeling a bit guilty. He hadn't known it was such a big thing for you to know. Maybe you had been bullied before. Now, maybe since someone other than Haruhi knew, you didn't feel safe anymore.

Maybe, Hikaru pondered, you thought you couldn't trust him. Maybe you were tearing yourself because you now owed them a debt that you still felt you needed to pay, and on top of that they had the ability to 'blackmail' you.

_What have I done? _Hikaru knit his brows. _I... should have waited. I should have told him when we went home, not right before class. I should have pretended not to know, and-_

You turned around; cheeks opaque with a light cherry color, and your eyes were glittering to the room light. Your lips were stained a bright pink, curved delicately upwards in a shy smile. Hikaru's eyes widened, not believing what he was seeing.

Had you always been so feminine?

After you had controlled yourself, and made sure you wouldn't burst out loud upon facing him again, you turned around. Your cheeks were so painful and warm from trying to hold back your laughter, and it had been so funny that your eyes had begun to water from tears! Not to mention your lips were raw from being ruthlessly bitten to keep your mouth shut and refrain from let out an obnoxious guffaw.

Hikaru thought you were a homosexual! Which meant that Kaoru thought you were, too!

_Because the thought of me being a girl is just soooo otherworldly. _You weren't even offended at the thought. You were too incredulous and disbelief. Was he joking you?

The look on his face when you turned around told you that, no: Hikaru was in no way joking around. His face was the picture of guilt and concern, and for an instant, you felt bad about your charade. You cleared your throat and cracked a smile.

"And... You're still okay with me staying over at your house?" He slowly registered the thought and bobbed his head up and down slowly, like he was being controlled by a remote. The school bell chimed loudly, signaling students to enter the classroom and fill in seats.

"...Yes." His answer was just as robotic. His stare was cold, and his face stiffened.

"Thank you," you breathed, rubbing your eyes briefly to dry them a bit. "I really appreciate it."

Hikaru didn't say a word to you after that. When your class started on the project of making a Victorian-inspired wooden chair, Hikaru didn't contribute many ideas.

"Are you okay?" you whispered when he was sanding an edge on a block of wood. He straightened, body visibly tensing. You frowned. So after a 'confirmation' of you being 'homosexual', this is how he acts? Seriously? He was completely fine before...

"Fine. I'm just thinking about..."

He glanced at you. You raised a brow. He looked away.

"... stuff."

"Stuff," you repeated with a hint of exasperation. "Well, don't think too hard on your stuff. It'll distract you from what's _important."_

"Important," His whisper was breathless. "Important."

You decided not to pry into how he was feeling. Was he awkward now that he knew you were attracted to males (which you genuinely were..), and that he wasn't? He obviously didn't shun it – _especially _someone who practiced the act of homosexual twincest isn't allowed to judge you, or anyone on that!

"That arm rest isn't going to sand itself, Tagara," you perked up at the voice and glance up at none other than Hikaru Hitachiin. His frown and stone-cold expression was replaced with his usual smirk. Whatever you had said, or whatever he had convinced himself out of, it had done the trick. The little devil was back.

"I could say the same to you, Chimpanzee. That's the poorest attempt at a chair leg I've ever seen. We were going for _majestic, _not _the scrawniness of your own leg, _remember?"

Five minutes later, you were both sent outside for irresponsible use of equipment. He had lunged for you with his chair leg, and you fought him off with your armrest. After getting your crutches involved, and some toppling over and falling on top of each other, you had both caused enough commotion for the teacher to finally look over and find you guys laughing loudly on the floor.

You were both back to normal, all right.

**-X-**

Haruhi was a dear, and as far as you were concerned, always would be. She caught sight of you going through the door after school, but instead of cooing and sprinkling you with soft, comforting words like the other girls at the school had, she stomped over and gently rotated your head so she could see the bruise. No words. Just actions. Her concern was displayed clearly in her appearance.

"Does it still hurt to talk? It's looking better already, thank goodness."

"I missed you too, Haruhi." She smirked, giving your cheek a gentle pinch.

"You wouldn't have to miss me if you had come over to my place instead, Kyo," she reprimanded.

"My day was great, thanks for asking, Haru-chan~" With a chuckle, she slapped you lightly on the shoulder. The guests had just begun to pile in, so you both ventured off into the kitchen to brew up some coffee, conveniently allowing for time to chat.

"Which one are you gazing at?" Kyouya strolled over to the Hitachiin's desk area, as the girls crowded the boards to sign up for their host. Hikaru sat there, staring fondly at the two cousins disappearing into the kitchen. Kaoru had yet to arrive, which was usual since P.E. took him some time to change afterwards.

"...No one," he denied, feigning a stretch of his tight muscles.

"... She's not bad," Kyouya remarked, tone light and rather curious. Hikaru didn't seem to notice. "With a bit of polishing, she could really be something."

He shifted awkwardly in his seat. "She's fine the way she is..."

"The way she is, you say? I'm sure Haruhi would be happy to hear that."

Hikaru looked at him strangely. "Haruhi? Just because she's her best friend, why-"

"We're talking about a 'she', aren't we? I would have thought you were talking about the girl of the pair, not the boy, Hikaru. Haruhi would be _his _best friend."

And then his mind wandered off to how the conversation had started; Kyouya had asked Hikaru whom he was staring at.

"... That was cheap."

Kyouya fixed his glasses and went off to tend to the overflow of customers at the door. "How mean. You should know that I do not associate myself with 'cheap' matters, Hikaru."

Hikaru's gaze fell glumly on the surface of the table, wishing Kaoru would show up faster. Finally sighing, he got up from his seat to look for his brother, mind a bit too distressed to be alone.

Kaoru entered just then, squeezing past the girls to get to get into the room. Hikaru smiled to greet his twin, but an almost identical voice interrupted him. The very boy he was going to call out for opened his mouth to call out for someone else.

"Tagara! You skipped P.E!" You rolled your eyes, pushing the cart of coffee and tea out with Haruhi by your side.

"I gave the note to the teacher before class! Why? Upset that you didn't have anyone to run with today? Oh, _poor you_."

"More like anyone to eat my dust, 17 second sprinter!"

You looked ready to throw a tantrum on the floor, your face tomato red. "16! _16! _And don't make me remind you that you made me run so much before you even bother timing—"

Kaoru scoffed. "No excuses. My 10 second self refuses to associate with you~"

"_You _ran _11 seconds, _you jerk! Stop making the gap bigger! Don't make me javelin my crutches at you!"

Giggling echoed under the doorframe of the third music room. Tamaki dashed to your side to calm your bickering, only to be blocked by your angry fist shooting him into another corner. Kyouya directed the attention back onto the endorsing of host decision, offering deals and coupon with his brilliant commerce expertise. Mitsukuni dashed adorably to your side to inquire about the state of your leg, and Takashi made you blush as he bent lower to look at your jaw. You assured him that you were fine as you shuffled away in your crutches.

"Hikaru, are you okay?" He looked at Haruhi, who had just called ove to him. The mentioning of his name attracted your attention to the other twin standing lonesome in the room, a blank expression on his face. Kaoru made his way from the crowded to his twin, and hooked arms with him, catching on quickly to his brother's stillness.

You eyes softened at the sight of him. Why? He had no idea. You parted those crimson lips of yours to call him.

"What are you waiting for?" You cocked your chin up since you couldn't cross you arms. "Aren't you going to come over here and try my coffee, and then spit it out at me so I can behead you with my crutches?"

He cracked a smile. You grinned triumphantly and waved him over. Along with Kaoru, he bolted over.

And when he took a sip of your coffee, spat it back out at you, and claimed it to be disgusting, you shrieked at him. It was made the exact same way that Haruhi had! It was _impossible_ for one cup to be better than the other. Still, he insisted that he could taste a difference.

"_You're_ impossible," you grumbled, rubbing your temples after you had been seated down and had your crutches on the side.

"But I guess that's why you're so charming."

**Hikaru's light bulb escaped a fleeting flicker.**

**End Chapter. **

**–X-**

End Notes:

* Itadakimasu – didn't feel right saying 'thank you for the food' since it's not really the same, so I kept it in it's Japanese form.

Yeup, there was more Hikaru in this Chappie than Kaoru, but Kaoru will get equal time later on too, so Kaoru fans don't be disheartened!

I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! I am serious, there were so many points in time I wanted to drop everything and just WRITE THE FRIKING CHAPTER, but this is so much easier said than done. I will try my best. I am so sorry for the wait D:

Every review helps get me motivated and increases my urge to write (; This is no ploy to get my reviews, because believe me when I say I am more than satisfied with how many reviews this amateur story has. You guys are amazing. I love hearing what you guys think, and I could really use some suggestions (:

Happy Chinese New Year 2012! :D

_**Edit: **I will mention this at the beginning of the next chapter too, but Hikaru's lightbulb has NOT FULLY TURNED ON. It flickered. See title of chapter. _


	9. Sticks and Stones ::09::

**-X-**

**Chapter Nine: Sticks and Stones**

**-X-**

With two strong hands, you drew open the curtains and unlatched the window frame. Fresh outdoor air burst into your face and weaved its way into the stuffy room. You rubbed your eyes and smiled to yourself bashfully, looking down at the colorful backyard garden view. If you rested your forearms on the frame, your head on your palm, and blew out a dreamy sigh, it would be the perfect storybook setting for a princess awaiting her prince.

Pfft.

"Kyo-san, the young masters have not yet awoken." Mikaela, the pretty maid that had tended to you two mornings ago, stood at the doorway of your room. She was carrying a tray new towels and, from the looks of it, a cup of warm tea.

"Why doesn't that surprise me anymore." You joined Mikaela as she replaced the 'dirty' wash and bathing towels from the rack. "Here, let me do that."

"Kyo-san..." she acknowledged softly, and she made a gasping sound like she wanted to say more, but you were already reaching up higher than her petite frame could and stacked the towels atop each other on the rack. "Thank you, Kyo-san."

"Think nothing of it," you answered, pretending to sound like you were full of yourself, and she let out a small giggle. "Let me take care of myself while you go try to wake the twins up, alright?"

"Oh, there are other maids in charge of that, you need not worry, Kyo-san!" You made a face to yourself. You weren't worried. Just... well, they were your ride. You had to keep up your perfect attendance record to get on the good side of those grade-hungry teachers. The thing with being a commoner at Ouran Academy was that there was no way to guarantee your next year; or even your next _term _with their faculties unless you maintained a certain level of academic excellence and educational discipline with them. Unless, of course, you were a suck-up bribe—oh, you supposed the correct term was 'benevolent sponsor', as they preferred to call it, which very much of the school's families were. At the very least, you had Haruhi to have plenty of study dates in the library with, and you weren't at all eager to get rid of them in exchange for paying money – that you _didn't have._

"... you... truly a... man, Kyo-san." Her words snapped you out of your thoughts.

_"WHAT?" _Mikaela gasped. You slapped a hand over your mouth. That was _a lot _louder than you wanted it to be...

She took a moment to compose her surprise, and she looked down as if to be ashamed. "I... I said that you are truly a kind and caring man, Kyo-sama."

Oh, stupid you! Of course! Why had you over-reacted and thought she was taking a jab at your gender? Now you've even made her revert back to –sama instead of –san. You cleared your throat, flustered and desperate to make up for your stupidity. A hand strayed near your nose for a little scratch. "No, I-... Sorry. I..."

She looked up at you expectantly, her brown, doe eyes surprising you with their vibrant color.

"...I hallucinated." You winced. _DO! Kyo, why are you so stupid?_

While giving yourself a mental slap, you almost missed her delightful giggling. wished you could giggle like that, and look that pretty and have your hair at such a short length without people thinking you were a boy..

"Kyo-san?" You snapped out of your thoughts again and refocused. Mikaela looked at you weirdly, and then you realized that you had been staring blankly at her while you were lost in thought.

Such a ladies man you were. You were so good; too good.

_NOT._

Trying to hide a blush (and failing), you nodded absently to yourself like you just remembered something important. "Yes, um... I'll see you later, Mikaela-san. If you'll excuse me while I..."

"Oh," she blushed as well, and was it just you or did the ensuite get way too hot, way too soon? "Oh course. My apologies for being in your way, Kyo-sama."

"Not at all, you're never in the way—I mean you're _not _in the way... but I-I didn't correct myself from never to not because you're sometimes in the way, I just realized that it sounded like I was flirt-t... I just..." You pursed your lips. "... Good morning, Mikaela-san."

She gave you one last glance from the door before departing and grinned, her eyes turning into lovely crescent half-moons. "Good morning to you as well, Kyo-san."

_They should put my picture next to 'awkward' in the dictionary. _You collapsed your shoulders and let out a groan, pinching at your nose. _Or put my name in as a synonym. Ughh.._

Well, at least she thought you were a boy. That was always a plus... right?

**-X-**

"D-Do you only work in the mornings?" you stammered out as Mikaela placed your breakfast plate in front of you. She blinked and smiled warmly back.

"Tuesdays and Saturdays are my days off... Tagara-sama." You nodded, also taking note of how she talked to you formally once in the presence of others. You withheld a blush from yourself and took a sip from your water; it was almost as if you were both keeping your relationship secret.

With a clumsy sputter of liquid from your lips, you coughed, utterly embarrassed with the way that thought had sounded in your head, and knocked over the crutches at your side. Relationship? Secret? _What was wrong with you?_

Hikaru and Kaoru watched with annoyance as Mikaela went to your side instantly to pick up your crutches before you could even decline her offer, and then to wipe the water you had ungracefully spilt.

Were you, Kyo Tagara, _blushing?_

They looked at each other, baffled. When Hikaru and Kaoru had arrived home the day before, Hikaru had instantly told his brother of the conversation he had with you in woodworking about you admitting that you were homo. Of course, he left out the bit where your eyes glittered and lips became a lovely rose color...

"Thanks Mikaela, I'm such a klutz. AH!" You stuttered, growing red in the cheeks again. "I mean... _Yale-san."_

"Think nothing of it," she said softly, repeating your words from when you had helped her with the towels, "my dear Tagara-sama."

You turned absolutely crimson, and a hand clasped tightly around your nose.

The twins' expressions turned dark with a disapproving frown. You were homo ... right?

**-X-**

"Aw, she's the cutest thing ever, Haruhi!" You couldn't help but outburst to your loyal cousin at school. Haruhi raised a scoffing brow at you, amused with how energetic you were about this particular maid. "She has the prettiest hair I've ever seen outside of a shampoo commercial too, oh my goodness. I wonder if she curls it inwards every morning, or she _wakes up like that. _And her eyes are wide and bright – Oh, and you should hear when she giggles! I wish I could giggle like that! It's the cutest thing ever!"

"I never thought I'd live to hear you say, 'the cutest thing ever', Kyo." Haruhi chuckled, taking a seat with you in the library during your study break together. As always, it was empty, and made for the perfect spot to talk about, well, girl stuff. "I'm glad you've made a friend, but _do _tell me if... anything happens, you know?"

Of course, she meant 'anything' having to do with that fact that you were a teenage girl living in a house owned by two teenage boys.

"Don't worry, Haruhi. The twins are too caught up in the illusion that I'm," you gave her a waggle of your brows, "homo."

"Kyo-chan, don't do that!" She laughed out loud. "It's so creepy!"

"Do what?" you repeated, with a feigned smile of seduction and a continuous wiggle-waggle of your eyebrows. Haruhi laughed harder and shivered at the same time. You were unable to hold back and laughed out loud, too.

"Shh!" went the librarian.

"You really have to get over your insecurities. You're completely clueless to how many people must think you're amazing, but they're just too afraid to talk to you, or haven't gotten the timing right." You nearly fell out of your chair.

"Like you're one to talk, Miss. Heartbreaker!" She flushed at the old nickname, but it quickly changed to a laugh. "Need I remind you of primary school love letters during valentines?"

She waved the memory off, and then leaned forward on the table. "Don't you remember that... what was his name? Shuuya-kun? He asked you to be his wife and you threw a _rock _at his head! It was the _size_ of his head!"

"We were 10 years old! Who takes those things seriously? And he had a thick head, anyways," you countered, leaning forward also to challenge her. "What about poor Masaru-kun? He asked you out, and you actually thought he meant to _go outside!"_

She looked at you blankly for a second. You had a reality check.

"Oh my gosh, are you serious: You still haven't figured it out?" She cleared her throat and leaned back in her chair. "HA-RU-HI FU-JI-O-KA! You should be ashamed of yourself! That poor guy! He was nice, too!"

"He was a friend," she defended meekly, her face looking like she was concentrating. That Haruhi. Always oblivious, but at the same time, she was strong. You couldn't beat her when it came to strong-will or determination, but luckily it was something you had running in your veins as well.

"Guess we're not the luckiest when it comes to love, huh?" she confessed, and you laughed.

"Love? It's over-rated anyway," You looked straight into her doe-like eyes, so similar and yet so different than Mikaela's. Haruhi's was strong, direct, and unyielding. "But you should let loose a bit, Haru. I'm not like you. You will always have a line of guys behind you, wishing you would look their way a little more often, or smile in their direction."

She looked up at you, not sure where this sentiment was coming from. "Kyo?"

"But me," you breathed a sigh, "Even if I could handle him, he probably wouldn't be able to handle me. Even I admit that I'm strange and hard to deal with. Lately, I think I might be losing so much hope that I'd be willing to go well... Homo. I mean, it's not what I naturally feel, but if I'm not ever going to get a guy, a cute girl wouldn't hurt, right? M-Maybe I could try... It's probably better than being forever single."

"Kyomi Tagara, why do you _still _think like that?," Haru sounded like you had slapped her in the face, "You're still as insecure as ever, aren't you?"

You considered the thought, knowing that all your life you'd never really felt confident or brave enough to put yourself out there in ways those pretty, confident girls like Haruhi could.

_"Hahahah!" He jabbed a grubby finger at you, his giant smile missing the front two teeth. "Ugly! Ugly!"_

_You swallowed, tears threatening to brim, but you held them in, chin quivering and lips in pain from biting them. Maybe if you bit hard enough, you'd forget the pain they caused, and focus on the pain in your lip._

_"Her hair is fire! No wonder! Her face must be all burned!" _

_You hiccupped, and held onto your nose so that you wouldn't have to sniffle. If you sniffled, they would know you were crying. You held it tight, not wanting them to see you affected with their words._

_"Stick and stones will break my bones!" you barked, masking the choking, nasal quality of crying with the fact that your nose was plugged. "But words will never hurt me!"_

_"Shut up, Ugly! No one can even understand what you're saying!" You huffed, and turned around to run away. They chased after you, taunting and vile with their words. "Run, Ugly! Haha, no one likes you anyways!"_

"...mi? Kyomi? Kyo?" You cleared your throat to rid yourself of the bad memories. Haruhi tilted her head to look at you curiously. You smiled, just as the next period bell rang.

"I'm... probably only as insecure as you are oblivious, Haruhi," You got up from your seat. Haruhi did the same, taking your books by instinct as you got onto your crutches.

"People call me oblivious all the time, Kyo," Haruhi remarked, sounding a bit like she had no idea where the idea even came from.

"I know," you breathed.

**-X-**

"What was that this morning?" You blinked, squinting your eyes as you tried to comprehend what the little devils were saying _now._You hadn't seen the two of them the entire day, and you had arrived late for Host Club so you had instantly gotten started. Everyone had already gone through a few rotations, and the next one was about to be the last. The twins decided to catch you now before the last half hour and confront you about it, because they couldn't hold back any longer.

"What was what?" They frowned.

"Mikaela Yale," they named. "What was that?"

"She's not a 'that'," you defended, pretending not to know what they were really asking. "She's a girl. Just because she's your maid doesn't mean she's an object!"

"That's not," Hikaru started.

"What we meant," Kaoru finished. You pretended to be ignorant, still.

"I don't know what you're talking about." After the words came out, you realized that they were the most cliché words ever to be spoken by people who knew _exactly _what was being talked about. Darnit.

The twins obviously knew this too, and they only grew more impatient. "You were flirting."

"I was _not," _you denied, and for some odd reason, finished very late with, "...flirting." The word didn't sit very well in your mouth.

Haruhi approached from behind the twins. "Is there something going...?"

"No," was their firm answer, flashing a smile back at her before swivelling around with a cold expression towards yours truly. Haruhi gave you a look from behind, and you shrugged and rolled your eyes. She turned back around to go to her table.

"What were you doing then?" Hikaru pressed. You sighed.

"Really, when has it _ever _been your business? Why do you care?"

"She's our maid," Kaoru explained, a bit too quickly. "An employee for _our _services."

"There you go again," you snapped crossly, "treating her like a possession."

"Heh," Hikaru scoffed. "You're very keen on defending her rights, aren't you, Kyo?"

"Um, reality check: Because she _has _rights! So what if she's your employee? So what if you pay her? Under what law does that mean that she belongs to you, or that her business is any of yours?"

"So you admit to flirting with her!" they accused again.

"I was not—" You growled. "Oh, grow up, you two! You both said I was _GAY, _remember?"

You said that a little too loudly. Kyouya, Tamaki, Mitsukuni, and Takashi were all looking at you, sitting on their sofas to get ready for guests. You smiled sheepishly, and gave them a wave, as if to say 'nothing to see here, carry on!' With the help of a Haruhi to distract them (after giving you another interested look), you concentrated on the twins in front of you again.

"Remind me again," you grit out, really losing patience, "_why _this is a problem? Or why it's even worth mentioning?"

"Are you homo, or are you not?" were their final words. You sighed heavily, and pinched your nose out of habit again. Thank goodness it wasn't mixed in with your time of the month or you'd be popping some major blood vessels!

"I _hate _having to interrupt your quarrel...That's a lie, obviously," Kyouya intercepted. You cracked a smile. "The guests will be here in 40 seconds, so save your bickering for later."

"Gladly," you agreed, shooting the twins a hard look. They returned it, with eyes that read _'Later. Just you wait.'_

You returned it with a glower that hopefully said, _'just go do your stupid twincest thing already.' _

They glared harder. You stuck out your tongue. Kyouya coughed, and you retracted aforementioned muscle back into mouth for the guests to come in.

"From a third person's understanding," Kyouya informed the twins after they had arrived at their table, well away from your earshot, "it would seem that ... there is a case of possessiveness occurring."

They both opened their mouth to deny the accusation, only to be cut off. "Of course, not that I care. I only request that you take your personal mishaps elsewhere other than the clubroom where guests could possibly see."

"...Fine," they agreed bitterly.

"Oh, and not that my opinion matters, because it really doesn't in this case..." Kyouya looked over his shoulder at them for a dramatic touch. "But being possessive is completely all right... if the other person agrees to be yours."

He didn't bother to look back at them, knowing full well that his words would leave them to ponder fruitlessly for the following minutes. The evil mastermind glided swiftly to your side, finding that you were in conversation with yourself.

"Really, is it that big of a deal whether I'm gay or straight? I could be bisexual, then what? When was it ever their business or_ right _to know?" you grumbled angrily to yourself, drawing circles onto the table in front of you. "Maybe I really should become homo, because I've completely lost hope in all of the opposite sex—"

"...Tagara-kun." You glanced up at Kyouya. His expression was blank. You knew better.

"D-Did you hear all that?" you sputtered.

Kyouya stared straight at you, unwavering, with his poker face in play. "No."

It was so obvious that he was lying. "Yeah right, but you probably don't care either. Do you need something?"

"It's actually about your next guest. I came to warn you." Oh, now you were paying attention, as if Kyouya coming to speak with you personally wasn't enough of a reason. "It's not her first time being in the Host Club..."

"She's difficult, isn't she?" He nodded, confirming your suspicions.

"It's surprising that she would even come back, seeing as she had such a dreadful experience the last time she was here."

"Who did she have as a host last time?"

"Tamaki." Kyouya let out a small chuckle as your eyes went wide.

"_Tamaki _couldn't handle her, and yet you think _I _can?"

"It's true that under normal circumstances, I would never allow such a preposterous conclusion." He was really pushing it that this was a 'one time thing' only... "But due to Suzumura's peculiar taste in men, I figure I'd let you give it a try."

"... You're just doing this for a good show, aren't you?" He answered with a devilish smirk and another adjustment of his glasses to hide his eyes.

"I believe that you can handle this, Tagara," he swiveled around to leave, but not before one last glance over the shoulder. Kyouya made a note to himself that he was rather pleased with the effect of looking over his shoulder for a dramatic finality of words. "Besides, her family is one of the school's most wealthiest benefactors..."

You translated: 'Don't screw this up.'

Oh joy.

**-X-**

"I don't normally do this," was the first thing that you heard her say. "Just so you know. I'm not usually the type to request a host, or come to these types of things..."

"Um... Don't worry about it," you tried to reassure, and stood up to pull a chair out for her. She still looked rather edgy, like she might run out screaming and any second. You had a feeling that she had debated for a long time whether she actually wanted to request a host. "Take a seat. My name is Tagara Kyo. And you are?"

She looked like she didn't want to say her name. "... Suzumura Aiko."

"Aiko?" you repeated. "That's the name of my grandmother. It's a lovely name."

"Thanks," she said awkwardly.

"You're welcome," you said, and then a small silence ensured. You took the time to admire her well-kept appearance, from her long black hair that went down to mid chest, and her blue eyes turned upwards, giving her a fierce and almost intimidating look. She was like a doll. Funny how upon entering this rich atmosphere that you would find so many girls that looked like they had been cut straight from a magazine, only to make you feel worse about yourself.

You really needed to get over your stupid insecurities. The fact that you were insecure _almost _pissed you off as much as what _made _you insecure, if that made any sense whatsoever.

"You're not... really like the rest of them, are you?"

"Hm?" You cleared your throat. "W-well, I guess I _am_ new... I'm not so experienced."

"That might be it," she said, possibly to herself. "I'm surprised that you haven't cuddled up next to me like a creep and asked if I'd like to go home with you."

You nearly burst out laughing. That sounded like an over-exaggerated version, though rather accurate version of what Tamaki had behaved like the first few days you had known him. "Even if you asked me to cuddle next to you like a creep, I don't think I'd be able to... convince myself to do that."

She blushed. "I wasn't implying that I wanted—n-nevermind."

"I didn't mean it that way," you said, pouring tea into her cup as you noticed that you had forgotten amidst her 'peculiar', as Kyouya put it, personality. Actually, she seemed normal and even down-to-earth in your opinion, though you could see what Kyouya meant. All the girls that came in here, came to have a show; to be pampered, and fed lovely words, and see pretty guys. But this Suzumura Aiko didn't look the least bit inclined to even shed another glance in their direction. It was like she didn't even want to look at you, nevertheless talk. "Sorry if this is sudden, and don't take it the wrong way, but why are you even here, Suzumura-san?"

She looked taken back, as if she hadn't thought that you would even ask. She blushed. "Actually... um, I-I just thought I'd try it out."

"Kyouya tells me that you had a rather... how did he put it? 'Dreadful experience' the last time you were here, though."

"P-People change," she stammered, eyes never meeting yours. You nodded, and drank some tea to moisten your lips.

"Do you-?" She looked up at you abruptly, but then quickly looked away. "Do you... have a type of girl that you like, T-tagara-kun?"

"Not in particular," you said, barely even giving it a thought. "What about you?"

"Not in particular," she answered, sneaking a glance up at you. You weren't really used to this kind of guest. Most of the guests that came to you either cut you some slack because they knew you were inexperienced, or were wealthy daughters who were very accustomed to starting and having pleasant conversation. You knew from what Kyouya said that Aiko was hardly a commoner like yourself, so why was she so reluctant to talk? Something about her didn't seem introverted, either. "I-I guess... someone who's kind, and honest... willing to help those around him..."

"The typical nice guy?" You grinned, and she cleared her throat, sudden taking a large gulp of tea like she was really thirsty. She coughed, spilling a few drops on her chin, but it was enough o make you rush over. The tea was just brewed, since it had run out last session, and you knew from your last sip that it was still scalding hot. You winced as she desperately fanned her tongue. "Oh, geez, did you burn yourself? Come with me quickly!"

You dragged her to the nearest sink with one hand clasped around hers to lead her, and the other holding her cup of tea, now drained because she had drank it all in a hurry. "It's going numb, isn't it?"

"This is so humiliating," she whimpered as you flushed the tealeaves out from the bottom of the cup and filled it with cold water.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I know what that's like," You handed her the cup, and she muttered a soft thank you before taking slow sips from it. "Were you really thirsty?"

"Y-yeah," she answered, eyes looking at the ground instead of you. She was beginning to fidget; as you could see from the way her fingers would play and twitch around the cup. She was nervous.

"It's okay," You patted her back gently. "Calm down, it was just a spill. You don't have to drink all the water, but you can spit it out if you want to, though it's probably not what... you're accustomed to. I'm not exactly someone you need to act ladylike in front of, though." You cleared your throat, a bit self-conscious that you had admitted it. "Just keep flushing it with cold water."

She nodded shyly. "Mhm..."

"Kyouya!" You thought you might as well report it, and see what the genius had to say, since he basically organized and ran the club. He turned at the sound of his name, but Aiko quickly shushed you.

"Don't call anyone over! I don't want other people seeing." You blinked, and then looked back over at Kyouya, who seemed both curious and annoyed as to why you called him.

"Uh... Y-you look extra handsome today! Especially from this angle!" He looked both alarmed and almost horrified that you would say such a thing. You shrugged and gave a small wave, as if that would maybe calm him down. He rolled his eyes and turned back to his guest, who was giggling and teasing him about what you just said. Other girls seemed to be laughing and whispering about you as well.

"You're funny," Aiko breathed, a soft smile on her face.

"You're smiling," you countered, and she frowned immediately, as if she hadn't noticed she was doing so. Oh, well if you'd known she would stop the moment you said it, you wouldn't have said it at all. You cleared your throat awkwardly and offered, "You look a lot prettier when you smile."

Aiko eyes dared up to yours. You jolted, suddenly guilty that when she finally looked at you, it would be your turn to avoid her strong gaze. You scratched your head and looked up at the ceiling. "N-Not that you're not pretty already, it's just.. that you're _really _pretty when you smile, or... uh... gosh, not that you're not _really _pretty as it is, because I really think you're... umm... Okay, I'm going to stop, because I think I might be flirting. And now I'm saying my thoughts out loud, _great..."_

She blushed and bobbed her head up and down, hiding her lips behind her cup.

"Thanks, Tagara-kun..." You blinked and bobbed your head up and down, taking a gulp of saliva. Gosh, you were awkward.

"Um... you're welcome?"

"I'm glad that you're a good person," she said, closing her eyes. You dared to look down at her, then, also noting her small stature. She was nearly a head shorter than you. "And I'm glad you're not like that Suoh guy."

You couldn't help but let out a loud laugh at that, because it just sounded so... immature. "I'm glad I'm not like Tamaki either," you quipped. "And I'm glad that you're such a cool person."

"You think I'm... cool?" she said, and you wished you hadn't picked such an 'ordinary' adjective because it sounded so... _common _and out of place on the lips of a rich daughter like her.

"Definitely. I was a bit worried because I had assumed you would be difficult, too – I MEAN..." She giggled, but you could see the disappointment on her face. You looked down with shame. "O-only because I heard that you didn't have a good time with Tamaki last time, so I thought... that a newbie Host like myself wouldn't be able to-"

"You're perfect."

You both said nothing, with your eyes glued to the floor. You wondered if your heart had skipped a beat, because it felt so strange just then, but if it had, you must have missed it because now it was thundering like a storm inside your chest. You sniffled, and cleared your throat, knowing that it was futile to hide a blush.

"Thanks, Suzumura," you whispered, looking at her. She was fiddling with her cup again. "That means a lot. How's your tongue?"

Her fiddling hesitated, and you supposed that she might have forgotten about her previously scalding tongue. "Better. I should get going, actually."

You went after her as she turned around to walk away. "Oh, are you going to see a doctor? Does it hurt that much-"

"It's fine," she replied in a rush, "thanks to you getting me to cold water so quickly."

"That tea was really hot, you should maybe get it checked-"

"I-it's fine-"

"Am I not allowed to worry for you?" you said, almost angrily, because she was walking away from you as you chased her, and starting to cause a scene that made people stare. "Why are you in such a rush to leave? You still have 10 more minutes!"

You were already both at the door. You tried once more, "I-is there something I should know? Did I do something wrong?"

"I'm in your English Class."

You blinked. "...Oh."

She sucked in a breath. "But you obviously didn't know who I was."

"I-I'm sorry..." you apologized, blushing and feeling out of place all over again. You shifted to an awkward lean against the doorway. "I'm not good with names, and I don't talk to a lot of people beside Haruhi-"

"I know." You gulped. She was disheartened.

"Is that why you're leaving so soon? Because I didn't remember your name?" you tried, but it sounded strange even to you. Aiko shook her head hurriedly.

"I need some time to calm down." Your eyes widened.

"Y-you're that mad? I'm so sorry. I know i-it's my fault, and I didn't-"

"Tagara-kun," she said, looked up at you without looking away now. "... I can see why they call you the Naïve type, now."

They called you that? Why? What did she see? And who exactly was 'they'?

She let out a sad smile, because your look of confusion did all the talking. "I'll see you in class..." She sighed, and spat out, "And maybe for the first time, you'll finally see me, too."

"W-what?" You were so befuddled. She looked at you, and saw in your eyes that you weren't rejecting her. You didn't know what she meant.

"Do I need to _spell it out _for you?" she cried, and you froze, nearly paralyzed with confusion. You were so sorry. Sorry for not understanding, and sorry for not being good enough for her to just tell you. Sorry for making her so angry, so depressed, and you were sorry for not knowing her name or the fact that she was in your English class, and for not reacting more gratefully when she called you perfect. You were just so sorry.

But you knew that sometimes, being sorry wasn't good enough.

"Good bye, Tagara-kun."

Aiko reached behind you to the doorknob, the exact one that you had broken on the first day you entered the Third Music Room, and left without so much as a glance.

**-X-**

"Kyouya," Tamaki called out to his friend, who was also busy staring at your collapsed posture in your usually spot. "I told you from the beginning that it was bad idea to give him Suzumura-"

"You're mistaken, Tamaki," Kyouya sighed. "I did not give Suzumura to Kyo. She requested him herself and would have no one but him, even after I insisted that he was just a new Host. Besides, there's something else to her special request that I thought Kyo would figure out... but like she said, I supposed there's a reason we've given him the title of naïve."

At their own couch, Hunny gathered Usa-chan tightly into his arms. "Tiger-chan doesn't look happy..."

Takashi followed his gaze to where you sat, face turned away from everyone as you faced the open window, the seat you always took. It was something you often did; get lost in thought as you stared out the window, or avoid the gazes of others as you used it as an excuse to look away. You faced the table, but he couldn't see your face as you drew your hands up and buried your eyes into your palms.

"Maybe he's sad because he's lonely there in the corner by himself," Hunny remarked, energy diminished slightly. They both knew better. "Should we go and see what's wrong?"

"No," Takashi said bluntly. "There are others who know how to handle the situation better than us."

The two turned to observe Haruhi, who was gazing at her cousin solemnly through glazed eyes. However, just as she rose up from her chair, she stopped.

She had been beaten to it.

"Are you crying?" You coughed, and then again several times to unclog your throat. You rubbed your eyes as casually as you could.

"No," you responded as indifferently as possible, and then let out a small groan to try and be realistic. You were still facing downwards. "Just really tired."

A new voice, slightly higher in pitch and with less of a nasal quality, said, "You don't have to pretend."

"Just leave me alone, will you?" you snapped, "I'm not in the mood to talk to you two right now!"

Is what they expected you to say.

"I don't..." you sat up straight on the spot, and heaved a heavy sigh, which made them frown deeper. "I feel like crap."

They said nothing, and watched as you ran a hand through your hair, your bangs falling back into place gently. You smiled sadly at them. "Can we just go home?"

You propped yourself up using the table, but the uneven spread of weight caused the table to tilt towards you, collapsing underneath your weight.

"Hey!" You gulped, caught from the left by Kaoru, and the right by Hikaru. Kaoru was the one who had spoken. "Watch out."

"You're really not okay, are you?" Hikaru muttered from the side. You coughed, and stood up straight, taking your crutches from the side.

"Oh no you don't," Hikaru said, grabbing them. You looked at him strangely. "You look like you're about ready to fall."

"Which is why I need my crutches," you snapped, wondering why they were doing this.

"Which is why," Kaoru said from your side, a hand still placed at your hip. "You need _help."_

_Déjà vu, isn't it? They both rushed to my side on the day we went to the amusement park and I got beat up..._

"Do you want to stay with me, Kyo?' Haruhi offered, concern evident on her face. "You know that I wouldn't mind at all."

"We promised," Hikaru started.

"To be responsible for him," Kaoru finished. You blinked, that strange feeling coming into your chest again, not far from the sensation you got when Aiko called you 'perfect'.

"I'm just confused with my own lies, is all." Haruhi frowned. "But don't worry about it, I'll-"

"No," she snapped. You froze. "Don't tell me not to worry, Kyo, when that's all I've been doing since this charade started."

"Charade?" Hikaru reiterated, eyes growing wary. "What do you mean by...?"

"Haruhi, I'm sorry." She frowned deeper. "But not now."

"We have to fix this, Kyo. I didn't mean for you to get involved, and if I had known it would cause you this much grief, I would have never -..." You chuckled and dragged your foot over to pull her into an embrace. She let out a sigh into your shoulder and hugged you tightly.

"This isn't grief, Haruhi," you whispered. "I just need some time to sort out my thoughts. I know you worry. You've always been the stronger one, Haruhi, so it's only natural that you want to look out for me, who's always been weaker. But I'll fix it. I'll fix it soon."

"Take care of... him," she ordered, shooting the twins a look from your embrace. You pulled away and she smiled at you. "Give me a call tonight, okay?"

"Anything for you, my Haru," you quipped with a wink, which she laughed at. Tamaki and the twins seemed to be horrified, but you paid it no heed.

"Shall we go?" you suggested, turning to face the twins cheerily. They each raised an opposite brow to your positive attitude and you rolled your eyes.

"You should be used to my mood swings already. But if you don't mind, I want to jump on that big fluffy bed and take a nice, long hot shower until my entire body turns pruney!"

"Too much information!" they both shouted in unison shoving your crutches to you. You laughed.

"What happened to not giving me my crutches and 'needing help'?" you taunted.

"Right here!" Hikaru went for legs as Kaoru took your back. You tried not to squeak when you hoisted you up, each carrying a section of your body horizontally. "Let's go!"

"Wh-what are you doing? You know I hate being c-carried! Put me down!" You gave a last cry of desperation to Haruhi before disappearing around the corner. "Haru, save me!"

Haruhi waved goodbye to you with a smile on her face, and heaved another sigh.

"Haru-chan is really worried about Tiger-chan all the time, isn't she, Taka-chan?" Hunny remarked, prancing up to the stressed brunette. Takashi appeared next to her as well, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Girls are usually insecure," Haruhi spoke, "but Kyo is a rather severe case... She was teased a lot when she was younger about her red hair. When boys would get tired of poking fun at girls who would just cry and tattle, they went to Kyo, who would never report them and just brooded the insults silently by herself. I guess because she refused to react to them, they turned it up a level, and higher, until one day she snapped and transferred schools. She was about 13 years old when she moved. We stopped frequently communicating when we were about 10 years old..."

"So I take it that she isn't the type to cry in front of others and seek comfort," Kyouya remarked, jotting notes down onto his laptop. Haruhi nodded.

"But I think she's getting better. She's willing to ask for help now, and I think she's getting used to me worrying about her, which is why she's complaining about it," Haruhi chuckled, looking at the ground. "Maybe I am worrying too much. Maybe-... Wait."

She spun around and looked at them all with wide eyes.

"You were the one who gave it away, Haruhi," Tamaki finally approached from watching the scene carefully.

Honey giggled. "You started talking about Kyo using 'she' and 'her' without even knowing."

Haruhi blushed, cheeks tinting a pink color. "I-I can't believe I-"

"We already knew." She gasped, Tamaki standing directly in front of her, looking down at her with his striking blue eyes. "So don't worry about breaking the news to her. We've got it all under control."

"Besides," he went on, posing with a finger to his chin, "who were you planning to fool when we have Kyouya and Kyomi's sex is written as female on her student records, which Kyouya has never had a problem hacking into?"

Haruhi gulped. "I... hadn't even thought that far."

"Of course you hadn't," Kyouya mocked, and Haruhi gave him a fake glare. "But I went through the liberty of changing his gender to Male in the system anyways."

"You _what?"_

"What's the problem?" Kyouya pushed his glasses up. "We did that to yours too. Why else would the school request your physical examination in the male category?"

...

"That makes a lot of sense," she said, as everyone did a mental face-palm. "When did you all figure it out?"

"When she took off her glasses."

"When she accidentally spilled tea on me!"

"... You called her Kyo-chan."

Haruhi raised a brow and glanced at Tamaki, who blushed crimson. He didn't want to tell her that he was the only one who didn't use his own deductive skills to find out.

"He overheard you guys talking," Kyouya enlightened in his place.

"I- I was already suspicious when she first walked into the room! She... she was much too... uh.. girly!"

They gave him a look.

"Fine, I overheard them talking," he admitted, grumbling back to his corner. Haruhi stifled a laugh.

"So you all knew from the start..." she whispered to herself.

"Ahh, there is one catch." Kyouya lifted a finger. "The twins have yet to find out."

"You can't be serious!" she exclaimed. "But... but she's _living _with them!"

"Precisely."

"We have to tell them now-"

"Ah-ah," Tamaki wagged a finger in front of her. "And have them realize that the boy they've been keeping in their chambers is actually a girl?"

"She can stay at my place then," Haruhi huffed. "It won't be a problem, so we should –"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Haruhi." She blinked, watching as Kyouya stood up from the desk and walked forward to join the small semicircle formed around her. "Not while I've already gotten this far in my game."

"Your game?" Haruhi hardly looked convinced. "What do you-"

"There was once a person that the twins had let into their tightly confined world..." Kyouya explained, as Honey and Mori pulled out sitting mats for everyone to participate in story-time. "However, that person has already been 'reserved' by another, who happens to be a good friend of mine, you understand?"

Mori and Honey nodded, fully understanding Kyouya's mysterious referencing. Tamaki and Haruhi blinked, not quite understanding, but neither bothering to interrupt the flow of the story.

"But it seems that another chance has revealed itself, and I will take full advantage of it."

"So Kyo-chan is saying," Honey interrupted to help elaborate, "that Tiger-chan... is the new person who will entire Hika-chan and Kao-chan's world! But they think he's a ..."

"Boy," Mori finished helpfully. Honey flashed him a thumbs up.

"So you're trying to make Hikaru and Kaoru accept Kyo while they think he's a boy? How does that make any sense?" Haruhi proposed. Tamaki shook his head, believing that he was catching on.

"It must be... that Kyouya is giving Hikaru and Kaoru a test," All eyes focused on the King. "If Hikaru and Kaoru accept Kyo despite the fact that he's a guy, it will prove that they genuinely like Kyo as a person, despite the obstacles! It's the perfect way to prove their relationship, and the strength of their feelings! It shouldn't have to matter whether Kyo is a boy or a girl!"

Haruhi and gasped. Mori blinked. Had Tamaki just made a _point?_

"...Actually, that it incorrect." Gazes fell back on the evil matchmaker. "I just want to see how long it will take for them to figure out Kyo is actually a girl."

...

"That is so typical of you," Haruhi grumbled, rubbing her temples. "I can't say I'm completely opposed to the idea of Kyo helping to broaden Hikaru and Kaoru's world. I've seen first hand just how compact it is, and how unwilling they are to let anyone enter. I think Kyomi... might just be stubborn and dedicated enough to break that barrier... I don't really understand why you're doing this, Kyouya, but that's not what I'm most concerned about."

And then, it became a question. Why _was _Kyouya doing this? Kyouya didn't particularly feel like declaring that doing this would release Haruhi from the twin's hold, therefore allowing for no more rivalry between Tamaki and the Twins, but he felt that until they even got his previous referencing, he wasn't going to elaborate further.

"There is only one Tagara Kyomi, but there are two Hitachiins: Hikaru and Kaoru. You've been speaking the entire time as you if you expect Kyomi to break the barrier that confines their world, but what happens if," Haruhi took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"What happens if they're _both_ unwilling to let go of her when this is over?"

**End of Chapter Nine.**

**-X-**

I was going to make this a filler chapter when I glanced up at the document title and had a min heart attack.

CHAPTER NINE OMG, THE NEXT ONE WILL BE A DOUBLE DIGIT, KYAAHH.

So progress, dooodooodoo, is moving steadly along. I didn't even realize how long this was taking until the past two weeks. I've written about 30 pages for the chapter, and I thrown all of them away. It's been a really grievous progress, and while I'm not a fan of a lot of the content, I'm satisfied with the ending, and hopefully that's what this chapter leaves you with!

But finally, a _big _step forward has been taken! I hope you're all dying to see what happens next, because I'm certainly excited to show you guys! :D


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